I was about 10 when World Wrestling Federation wrestling was first broadcast on Sky and Super channels. While he wasn't one of its main guys at first, I always thought there was something cool about him and the way he spoke. He was a good wrestler as well, and I was into wrestling then . . . I used to grab my sister and twist her arm and that kind of thing, and get my friends in headlocks.

Thankfully I've grown out of that now!

Bret was born in 1957 and grew up in Alberta in Canada as a member of the Hart family who are a very famous family in wrestling. Their father Stu was a very accomplished wrestler, and he started off this very famous training school in the basement of their house, which became known as 'The Dungeon'. A lot of the top wrestlers today have come from this school, and Bret was one of its early successes. All of his seven brothers were either wrestlers or involved in the wrestling business, while his four sisters all married professional wrestlers.

At the age of 19, Bret became involved in Stampede Wrestling in Canada, which his dad ran with some very well-known people. He got picked up by the WWF in the early '80s, and kind of floundered a bit initially, until he got put together with this other wrestler called Jim Neidhart, who was a former American football player.

They formed a tag team called the Hart Foundation, which completely took off, and they won the WWF Tag Team wrestling championship twice.

Bret's finest moment came when he went solo, and became world champion five times, which was a really big thing.

From a technical point of view, he was really skilled, and I know that people say that wrestling is fake, but there's still an art to doing it and I'd imagine it's very difficult. I'd happily sit down and watch some of his matches right now, particularly the one against Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania in 1997, which was just incredible. Anyone who is into wrestling will tell you what a good match that was, and it clearly demonstrates why he was considered to be the most technically proficient wrestler.

Bret was with the WWF from 1984 to 1997, and then he changed to its main rival, the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1997 to 2000, also winning several championships there.

What I admire about Bret is that while he wasn't the main guy in wrestling at first he worked his way up to being world champion when he was 35, which is getting on a bit for that sport because many of these guys are retired by 40 through injury.

In order to succeed and become very successful at anything, you have to have a lot of ability, but you also have to practise and persevere and be doggedly determined as well. Being as determined about something as he was is admirable, whether you think what they're passionate about is ridiculous or not.

Bret officially retired from wrestling in October 2000 after he was injured earlier that year. He was concussed during a match when he received a kick to the head, and subsequently had a stroke.

I saw the match in question, which was against Bill Goldberg, a big monster of a bloke.

It was an unfortunate accident in an entertainment-based sport, where they still take a lot of knocks, regardless of whether it's prearranged or staged.

Nonetheless, it's pretty hardcore when you've been thrown around the place for 25 years. He has had to battle to get back to full health, and recovering from such an injury requires not only physical strength, but also the will and mental strength to get your life back together. I read that he could barely lift a pencil at first, but now he's back training, although he's obviously not wrestling any more.

Bret was also known as 'The Excellence of Execution' and 'The Pink and Black Attack', but his main tagline when he was wrestling was 'The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be'. I don't know if he actually lives by it or not, and it's a bit cheesy, but I suppose wrestling is a bit cheesy anyway.

He's a big humanitarian, like a lot of other wrestlers, and has done a lot of work with organisations like the Make A Wish Foundation, including visiting Africa to work with the children there.

Wrestlers like him would be role models in many respects, and when you're doing it for years on end, it adds up to a lot of time spent doing charitable work. He is a spokesperson for the March of Dimes Canadian Stroke Recovery programme, and spends a lot of time giving talks to those recovering from strokes.

Bret is married to his second wife, Cinzia, an Italian woman, and he has four children Jade, Dallas, Alexandra and Blade by his ex-wife Julie.

He has done some acting, including a recurring role in Lonesome Dove . . . The Outlaw Years, for which he received a Gemini nomination.

He recently appeared in a theatre musical production of Aladdin, and while I wouldn't necessarily think he's the best actor in the world, I'm looking forward to reading his new book, Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, which will be released in October 2007.

Dan Hegarty presents 'The Alternative to Sleep!'

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