Parents make us who we are; that is not to say that we turn out the way they want or that they can manipulate us into being like them. I think I have inherited my father's sense of fair play. I am obsessive about speaking out against injustice. My dad was hot on that, and I think that either he led by example or I have inherited that through genetics. My mum and aunt often tell me that I share his movements and expressions, and that we laugh
in the same way.

In terms of personality, we are completely different. After he died I realised he lacked confidence. Because of his upbringing, my father was full of self-doubt, and I later realised how much my mother helped him with that. I was determined not to suffer the same fate, so I went in the opposite direction. Being over-confident has its own problems. It isn't an attractive trait and can be perceived as arrogance, which is something I have to watch.
That said, being extrovert has definitely helped me in my career. You have to be outgoing to be a presenter - and you need the confidence to take knocks; it's fatal to take yourself too seriously. I always say that the fourth clause of a TV contract is to be prepared to be lampooned and have the confidence to rise above criticism.

In my book I talk about how my father beat me. He thought it was acceptable - and it was back then. The beatings were learned behaviour; he learned the practice from his father and from society. Nowadays hitting children is unacceptable, but I remember being caned for throwing a paper plane in class, and the scars lasted from November well into the following summer. When my father beat me it was out of hand - two years of uncontrolled beatings - and I realise now that it was because he was dealing with a lot of buried anger.
With my children, it never crossed my mind to beat them. I didn't have to consciously stop myself from beating them; physical punishment just didn't register in my mind.

My children are individual in character and outlook; they don't seem to have adopted many personality traits from me or Judy [Finnigan, Richard's wife]. My son Jack, however, has the same work ethic that I have. Even though I left school at 16, I knew I wanted to be a reporter, and I made that happen. Jack went to university and now works for a media company; he is very focused and professional. My daughter Chloe shares my sense of humour; we often laugh at jokes that only we find funny.

Judy and I have opposing personality traits: we balance each other out. I'm outgoing and optimistic, but Judy tends to see the down-side of things, and she has suffered from depression in the past. She says that I inflate her and she grounds me. That's why we work so well together.

• Fathers and Sons, by Richard Madeley, is out now (Simon & Schuster, £18.99)