Alastair Campbell was born in 1957 in Yorkshire where his Scottish Gaelic-speaking father was a veterinary surgeon.
He studied at Cambridge University then joined the Mirror Group as a trainee journalist, becoming the Sports Editor at local title The Tavistock Times. Campbell soon graduated to national newspapers, becoming political correspondent for The Mirror then News Editor for the now-defunct Today newspaper.
His route into politics came as an adviser for Labour leader Neil Kinnock and, when Tony Blair succeeded John Smith, he became his press secretary. It was the start of a successful partnership that would win three consecutive elections, with him taking on a number of roles including Downing Street Press Secretary, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson, Downing Street director of communications and spokesman for the Labour Party, and campaign director for the 2005 general election.
Since then he has enjoyed success in several areas, including a return to journalism with a role as editor at large of The New European and chief interviewer for GQ. He also works as a freelance political advisor, is an ambassador for several mental health charities, has written 17 books and is the co-host (along with Rory Stewart) of the hugely-popular The Rest is Politics podcast.
Here are 13 interesting things he's said over the years.
5. Alastair Campbell on...his public image
"My public caricature - that of a self-confident alpha male - is only partly accurate." | POOL/AFP via Getty Images
6. Alastair Campbell on...his childhood
"May I share with you my earliest memory of a political row? It was with my mother, about the Queen - classic Freudian stuff, shrinks would say. I was eight, and refusing to watch the Queen's Christmas Day broadcast." | Getty Images
7. Alastair Campbell on...depression
"One day, we will look back and wonder how on earth we used to believe that depression was a lifestyle choice, only to be debated and taken seriously when an A List film star took his life, and the world filled with people saying how shocked and saddened they were.” | Getty Images
8. Alastair Campbell on...being accused of lying
"For all that the papers would say I was a liar, I took the words I was saying at briefings as seriously as Tony Blair took what he would say at the Despatch Box. I find it very difficult not to tell the truth. I felt I was accountable for what I said.” | Getty Images