Arsenal legend Adams to edit the Today programme

The colourful career of former England and Arsenal football captain Tony Adams is to take another twist this Christmas when he turns his hand to journalism, as editor of BBC Radio Four's flagship Today programme.

He is one of six celebrity guest editors to take charge of the show over the Christmas period. The others are artist David Hockney, crime writer PD James, musician Robert Wyatt, politician Baroness Shirley Williams and scientist Martin Rees.

As a player, Adams appeared more than 500 times for Arsenal and won 66 England caps. He was also jailed for drink driving and battled alcoholism during his 17-year career. He won four league titles and three FA Cups.

Since retiring he has managed Wycombe Wanderers and Portsmouth, who fired him in February of this year. He also set up the Sporting Chance Clinic in 2000, which provides treatment, counselling and support for athletes with drink, drug and gambling problems.

One of the guests on December 30, the day he is guest editor, will be Joey Barton, the controversial Newcastle footballer and a former patient of Sporting Chance who, like Adams, has served time in prison.

The veteran author PD James will interview the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, during her show on New Year's Eve, and artist and cigarette-lover David Hockney will investigate how smokers are fighting back against the smoking bans.

Scientist Martin Rees, the president of the Royal Society and the Astronomer Royal, has promised that his programme on December 28 will look at questions we will never know the answers to.

Each of the guest editors will be responsible for between a third and a half of the programme's output. ·