Hello, I'm Markerruthers and in this program I'm talking face to face to someone who had a full and fulfilling career before he became a high profile politician.

That first career was famously as a soldier and he says his experiences on the front line in places like the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan shaped his approach to how he now does his job as an MLA.

We're in his office in Stormont's Parliament buildings and I'm hoping this conversation

will help to shed some light on Doug Beedy the man as well as Doug Beattie, the public

figure.

Welcome to Red Leads.

Good to speak to you, Mark.

Are there two different Doug Beadies, the public one and the private one?

Do you think of yourself in those terms?

I don't think of myself in those terms, but I think most people are different personas in different

environments anyway.

I think I'm very different when I'm with my friends and family.

I think I'm quite a quiet person, quite shy, in fact, if I was honest. And I think,

you know, when you see me in politics, or you see me in the chamber or you see me engaging

in this way here, I probably look at somebody who's overtly confident, which I'm certainly not.

So I think there's different Doug BD's in different places. But I don't think that's a bad thing.

I think that's quite a normal thing.

I think most people are like that.

We're going to get a glimpse of the private Doug Beattie in this chat, do you think?

Well, I'm pretty open.

I'm pretty honest.

So the questions are, you'll get the honest answer.

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