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TV personality Noel Edmonds says it saved his career - now North- East businessman Stephen Richards has written a book on the virtues of Cosmic Ordering. He talks to Women's Editor SARAH FOSTER
IN certain interviews there's a pivotal moment; a point at which the tone of things is set. With Stephen Richards it comes quite soon.
We're sitting in a house in Gateshead - Stephen, his PA Sharon, the photographer and I. The poor photographer is trying to get his shot amid a barrage of interruptions - "Why don't I put my hands up like this?", "I think this would look really good" - then out of the blue, Stephen asks him a question: "When did you first have sex?"
Having caught our attention, he intones sagely: "I sense there will be something sexual for you." The photographer looks bemused. I feel a little bit sorry for him, but mostly, I'm hugely entertained.
I can see already that this is going to be fun.
Hot on the heels of Noel Edmonds declaring himself a fan, Stephen has written the Cosmic Ordering Guide, explaining the philosophy and how to use it. A New Age phenomenon, it works on the principle that the whole universe is interlinked and that, by drawing on its power, we can achieve our wildest dreams. It may sound fanciful but Stephen, 41, who lives in Durham, claims to have used it to go from nothing to finding success.
In the Gateshead house which he's only just sold (among his many roles is that of property developer) he gives a flavour of what this means. "I'm an eclectic, universal gypsy, " he declares. "What I tend to do is juggle a lot of projects that vary from property developing and property letting to TV series and documentaries, usually as an assistant producer or consultant. I've worked on about 100 different documentaries simply as an advisor."
His television work has come through his writing - he's penned a host of books on gangsters - and the other stuff. ....