BRENDAN O'Hara reckons his role as Argyll and Bute MP wasn't just a new job.... it was the start of a new life.

Mr O'Hara captured the seat on a tide of Scottish National Party support during last year's General Election.

But nothing could have prepared the 53 year-old for his first year as a Westminster MP.

"Normally folk say how is the new job? My stock answer is it's not a new job, it's a new life!" said Brendan.

"It's been quite remarkable. Everything has changed. Nothing can prepare you for it.

"The level of upheaval is absolutely astonishing but I love it."

Unfortunately for Brendan, a former TV producer, his big moment at the count last year was missed by the millions of viewers.

He revealed: "I remember the count really well. The Helensburgh box came in really late but we were looking at the results from Oban, Campbeltown and Islay and it was looking good.

"We set ourselves a figure in Helensburgh and thought if we achieved it then we'd do it. The first box came out and as soon as we saw it that was it.

"We were so late in getting the announcement that it was about 5.45am but I have never seen the announcement on TV.

"Someone told me that the result was coming and Sally Loudon (Returning Officer) was about to speak but the TV cameras cut away because Prime Minister David Cameron's seat was just about to be announced- so we were cut off!"

"I spent most of the next day taking phone calls from family and friends and trying to catch up on sleep.

"On the Saturday we went through to the Forth Road Bridge for the photocall with Nicola Sturgeon and on Sunday we had to pack a bag. On Monday we were in Westminster."

The whirlwind has continued.

Brendan said: "That pace has not let up at all. It's been the quickest year of my life but the most interesting."

With the constant backbiting within the Labour Party ranks Brendan is convinced that block of SNP MP's now at Westminster are now the 'real' party that can speak for Scotland.

He said: "I was tickled pink when the Queen apparently said to Simon Hughes last year 'There's an awful lot more Scottish MPs'. But, of course there aren't. The numbers are exactly the same.

"It's because we are a block of SNP MP's."

But Brendan knows that he's had to hit the ground running and his in-box continues to overflow.

He said: "The benefits cuts from the DWP are a big issue.

"I am talking to the Citizens Advice, the Foodbank, the carers- all of these organisations. We should be thinking as one. My office is part of the safety net and we are seeing more and more coming in who've been sanctioned

by the DWP.

"Another issue is BT and their broadband provision. The broadband here and across Argyll and Bute is absolutely terrible. It's an appalling service.

"Asking people to come to Argyll and Bute without proper broadband provision is like asking someone to go somewhere without running water, or electricity. They won't do it."

If someone were to write a book on Brendan's career they could call it 'A series of wonderful breaks and fortuitous Adventures.'

He said: "I was a filing clerk at Glasgow District Council repairs department and if you think politics is hard try being a repairs clerk!

"But I got to University at an age when I absolutely loved it. I did not miss a lecture and did not miss a tutorial because I was so grateful for what I had.

"I then got into the student newspaper and got to be the sports editor.

"When I graduated my first job was with the Scottish Catholic Observer. I did 18 months there and then I became a politician researcher.

"That's when I went to STV. I was still interested in doing sport so I got into their sports department.

"I then got seconded to Rugby World Cup in 1995, working for ITV, then I was offered a job with SKY working in London.

"Five years later I worked for the BBC and then I took redundancy and set-up on my own. And I have never looked back."

Now as a Member of Parliament Brendan hopes to make just as big an impact.

He said: "My life has been a series of wonderful breaks and fortuitous adventures. I'm the luckiest man in the world."

One thorny issue is Brendan's- and his party's- opposition to the renewal of Trident, housed along the road at Faslane.

But it's an issue he has no problem in addressing.

He said: "I'm very comfortable with my position on Trident. I'm not saying it'll make me the most popular man in Helensburgh, it probably doesn't.

"What I would say is being opposed to Trident is not about being opposed to Faslane.

"That facility is a fantastic facility. No government on earth with a brain in its head would close it down."

Away from politics Brendan uses what little downtime he has with his family- or indulging in a guilty pleasure.

He revealed: "I'm a huge Country music fan. I have been to see Willie Nelson a couple of times and I saw Johnny Cash live in Glasgow, he was fantastic.

"And I have signed up to Netflix and I'm obsessed by House of Cards. It's absolutely brilliant."

Brendan has just opened up a new constituency office in Colquhoun Square and has vowed to be the "most accessible" MP the town has ever had.

He added: "I am on a drive to make myself the most accessible MP this place has ever seen and I'm determined to get involved in the community as much as I can."