The man of contradictions, who plays by his own rules

He's manna from heaven for producers looking for real life stars from so-called ordinary people -a man not afraid to speak his mind and to offend others by doing so.

Not that the Darlington Football Club chairman is much like most of the men in the street you meet, as demonstrated by this BBC North-East documentary following him in the weeks leading to the opening of the club's new stadium.

It was in all senses The George Reynolds Show. No one else got much of a look in. If they do comment and he doesn't like what they say (which seems to be most of the time), he finds out where they live and goes round -two in the morning is a good time, apparently -and sees them. He's hardly the tooth fairy.

This confrontational approach applies to fans and the Press alike. Mr Reynolds boasted about how one of his targets for the home visits was The Northern Echo's editor, Peter Barron -visits which led to a police investigation.

Those running a local fanzine and a football website, both of which closed after complaints from the chairman, declined to comment on screen. Fans also responded to the film-makers' questions about the chairman with a tactful and uniform "no comment".

The Northern Echo also decided to let viewers make up their own minds about dealing with Mr Reynolds.

What they did not say spoke volumes about what some might think about Mr Reynolds' confrontational tactics. He may not like the media, but cannot complain this programme did not give him ample opportunity to present his views and have his say.

Given that, are the makers sleeping easily, confident that their subject will not be paying them a nocturnal visit?

So what did we learn about the man himself, apart from his belief that the customer is always wrong, and so are the fans and the manager?

"They never get it right," he says.

He conducts himself with the confidence of a man who has both wealth (outsiders say he is worth £75m, he reckons nearer £200m) and power, feeling that people should be grateful he is doing something for them.

The makers concluded he was a man of contradictions, who runs the club by his own unique set of rules. No argument there. The implication is that everybody does what he tells them.

As a self-made millionaire and self-confessed former safecracker, he believes he can do what he wants. And that is exactly what he does.

He is hands-on, whether it's sacking a steward, cleaning the newly delivered dugouts or advising the manager on team tactics.

If he could, he'd probably play in the team too, though, quite honestly, I suspect he'd be as much use as I would.

Having spent in excess of £30m building the Reynolds Arena (the name leaving no doubt who was responsible), he was keen to show the cameras round, not to see the players' dressing room but the toilets.

Everything was done to the highest specification, he said, pointing out the automatic flush. "We are not the biggest but I profess to be the best," he said.

The only time his confidence seemed to desert him was on the day of the first match in the big stadium, although his wife said the run-up had put a big strain on him.

So much so, that he seemed confused over what was happening.

"What's the score?" was an understandable comment. But I worried when he asked "Which way are we kicking?"

At least he knew that 2,300 pies had been sold, proving the businessman in him was always alert.

I would have liked some more about his early life.

The film-makers did take him back to his native Sunderland, where he recalled briefly his tough upbringing. It was hard, he said. "Down here you stole or starved".

He recalled his first brush with the law for smuggling watches into the country, for which he received six months in prison.

He seemed rather proud of the fact that he had been locked up, admitting that, at that age, he enjoyed his reputation as a hard man. He insisted, however, that it was not a reputation which provided such a sense of fulfilment as he got older.

Reynolds is still very much someone who likes to be in the spotlight. Anyone who agrees to a film like this has to have something of the show-off or showman about them, however much they protest otherwise.

Time will tell whether he achieves his ambition of seeing Darlington Football Club move into the Premiership.

One thing is certain, he's not likely to become any less hands-on.

Or, judging from the tone of this particular television appearance, any less hands-off in the case of fans and the Press.

Last night's TV - Page 15

Match report - Page 2