Liam Hughes got into Cambridge to take an arts degree but then, on a whim, decided he wanted to be a doctor. Despite not having a science A-level to his name, he chucked his coveted Oxbridge place for a stab at medical school. He then spent more than 40 years in the NHS, rising to become a senior cardiologist in East Anglia. Along the way he helped to raise more than £2 million to develop cardiac services, including by rowing the Atlantic in a world-record time. Now finally retired, he lives in France.