FOR a man who once claimed there was more chance of him being "reincarnated as an olive" than taking the keys to No 10, Boris Johnson has entered the leadership race on a remarkably strong footing.
After leading the Brexiteers to victory, his stock among the widely Eurosceptic Conservatives grassroots is higher than ever and a string of MPs have already thrown their support behind him.
READ MORE: Theresa May and Boris Johnson enter race for No 10
But Tory leadership contests have a long track-record of failing to return the dead cert and his status as the favourite is already being challenged by Home Secretary Theresa May.
Mr Johnson has, however, repeatedly shown his star power at the ballot box.
His ability to reach out to voters that traditionally shun the Conservatives was demonstrated by his election as mayor of London in 2008 and retention of the powerful position four years later.
The Tory MP's decision to back Brexit in the referendum was a significant boost for the campaign, giving Vote Leave the high profile frontman it needed.
Mr Johnson also played a crucial role in the general election campaign that led to the first outright Tory win in decades.
But his political and personal life has also been littered with incidents that would have killed off the careers of many others.
Footage of him dangling from a zipwire was just one of many picture opportunities that could have made him a laughing stock but instead appeared to enhance, rather than damage, his public image.
His sometimes elusive relationship with the truth led to him being sacked from The Times for inventing a quote and losing a junior ministerial role under then Conservative leader Lord (Michael) Howard for lying about claims he had an affair.
Mr Johnson, 52, had originally dismissed allegations about his extra-marital activities with journalist Petronella Wyatt as "an inverted pyramid of piffle".
The Conservative faced an uncomfortable grilling about his "integrity" at the hands of Eddie Mair in 2013.
READ MORE: Crabb presents himself as One Nation candidate as May and Johnson prepare to enter Tory fray
The BBC broadcaster quizzed the Tory about claims that had supplied the private address of a journalist to a friend who had indicated he wanted to have the reporter beaten up.
Mr Mair accused the MP of being a "nasty bit of work" but Mr Johnson said the way he was portrayed during the interview was "not wholly fair".
A stint at the Daily Telegraph as its Brussels correspondent saw him develop the EU-bashing skills that have come in so useful during the referendum campaign.
As editor of The Spectator, he incurred the wrath of the city of Liverpool after signing off on an editorial accusing its citizens of wallowing in pity after engineer Ken Bigley's killing in Iraq.
The incident was one of many he has apologised for over the years, including calling black people "piccaninnies" and suggesting that Papua New Guinea was known for "cannibalism and chief-killing".
An old Etonian, he was a member of the notorious elite dining society the Bullingdon Club while at Oxford.
Tory colleagues in the Remain camp insist he is not an "outer" at heart and many believe he threw his allegiance behind the Leave campaign to ensure he takes over from frenemy Mr Cameron, who was a few years behind him at school.
Mr Johnson entered Parliament in 2001 as MP for Henley, quitting when he became mayor. He returned last year, this time representing the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.
READ MORE: Theresa May and Boris Johnson enter race for No 10
Regular appearances on BBC One's Have I Got News For You saw his public profile rocket, making him one of the best known politicians in the country.
Mr Johnson paid nearly £1 million in tax in four years, much of his earnings coming from his Daily Telegraph column and royalties from his books, which includes a biography of Winston Churchill.
His marriage to first wife Allegra Mostyn-Owen lasted six years and he later married Marina Wheeler, a QC.
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