Darryn Lyons: paparazzo, reality TV star, now mayor of Geelong, Australia

Darryn Lyons has been called many things - heroic war photographer, parasitic paparazzo, reality TV star - but his latest title may be the most shocking yet: Mr Mayor.

The 48-year-old Australian, whose Big Pictures photo agency in London helped to usher in the modern paparazzi era with its ruthless pursuit of celebrity pictures, was recently elected mayor of his hometown of Geelong, just south of Melbourne.

Sporting his signature mohawk haircut and fur-lined mayoral robes when visited at home for a photo shoot, Lyons believes his penchant for flair is just what the city needs.

"At the end of the day, if you want to sell Wilson tennis balls, who would you want to have doing it? Roger Federer. If you want to sell a restaurant, you want Gordon Ramsey," he said in an interview at city hall.

Whether or not Lyons is on a par with that company, Geelong needs all the help it can get.

The city of 180,000 people is struggling with the flight of thousands of manufacturing jobs, placing Lyons improbably at the centre of efforts to save one of Australia's major centres.

Born the youngest of three children to a middle-class family in Geelong, Lyons began working as a photographer for local newspapers straight out of school.