Ripper of a book

Colin Kendell, 70, from The Gardens, is an expert on the Victorian murderer and used him as his specialist subject when he appeared on BBC's "Mastermind" ten years ago. Having already penned one book on the topic, he has included a chapter on the ripper in his new volume "Eye on London."

Colin said that the unsolved mystery of the Ripper had a timeless appeal because there were competing theories, some more outlandish than others.

He said: "I think I've heard them all. Somebody claimed it was Doctor Barnado, and someone else even said it was General Booth. Personally I believe in the one about the Duke of Clarence's marriage - the story goes that the Duke had an illegitimate son and that he was being blackmailed. The murder victims all knew about the blackmail plot, and the final one, weeks later, could be seen as a cleaning-up operation."

Other chapters in "Eye on London" are dedicated to famous buildings, such as the Tower of London, the Albert Hall and Kensington Palace, and the historical stories related to each of them. Colin works as a genealogist and can usually trace the family history of clients back to when records began in 1837, so he is used to piecing together official records. The book took him two years to write and he made multiple visits to the sites as part of his research.

He said: "Apart from the chapters on the Ripper and on London's churches, both of which I had some knowledge of already, the rest was the result of research and I made repeated visits to Kensington Palace, for example. The interest in some cases comes from the buildings being so familiar. I have had many an enjoyable night at the Albert Hall over the years."

A music lover, Colin plays the clarinet and appreciates opera, which was reflected in his second specialist subject on Mastermind, the life and work of Puccini. He has fond memories of the show, in which he won his heat but was knocked out in the semi-final.