Outgoing Newsnight presenter, judging Forward prize for poetry, says poetry has 'rather connived at its own irrelevance'

Take a bohemian Old Etonian descended from a family of famous actors. Add in a colourfully unconventional marriage, a pair of penetrating blue eyes and a battered typewriter, and you have all the raw ingredients of a prize-winning poet. As Hugo Williams's latest collection is published, Rachel Cooke has all her best preconceptions confirmed.

Suburbia, tea parties and churches - John Betjeman's poetry is a joyous celebration of his times and an affectionate satire on his middle-class roots, says Hugo Williams.

The poet Hugo Williams bought his house for £5,000 in 1966 with the help of a loan from his dad. It is not only where he writes - it has provided inspiration for his award-winning work. Olinda Adeane pays a visit.