Anthony Clare 1942-2007

I was shocked to hear about the untimely death at the relatively young age of 64 of the popular psychiatrist and broadcaster Professor Anthony Clare.
Clare was a brilliant mind as well as a colourful character. He would occasionally provide commentary for TV documentaries like the popular science programme QED (including a particularly interesting one on the forensic analysis of the Shroud of Turin broadcast back in the 1980s), mixing erudite views with quirky humour, but is perhaps best known for his Radio 4 show “In the Psychiatrist’s Chair”, a sort of psychiatric version of Desert Island Discs or This is your life, in which he would interview prominent figures and bring out their inner feelings.
When I was researching depression recently I picked up a fascinating book “Depression and how to survive it” which took the form of a series of interviews between Clare and the late comedian Spike Milligan – a meeting of great minds (albeit very different minds) if ever there was one.