Dave Berry and Alex Zane on their bromance

'I like being his crutch': Dave Berry. Photograph: David Fisher/Rex Features

Alex and I have been on a bumpy road to what's become a loving "bromance". We?overcame a period of shared dislike, and even exchanged physical blows. About six years ago we came out of that and realised that we were two gentlemen who'd both been dealt a great deal?of luck in our careers. We were so young when we met – a couple of 22-year-olds thrown together by MTV [Berry and Zane were hired as presenters in 2002].

Alex is one of the few people who understands what it's like doing what I do and the experiences I've had, both positive and negative, through my work. That's special, and?subsequently the basis of a very strong friendship.

When I joined XFM, Alex was really welcoming. He was great at telling everyone what I was about, my credentials. I was the mod boy he'd known forever. But we did used to enjoy pulling each other's pigtails. We had a different work ethic, a different presenting style and were both trying to make the best possible show we could, and we clashed.

But we came through it. We have the best times together. Both of us work unusual hours, but we're never too busy to meet up. Normally we'll meet at a bar in central London and, depending on the day, we usually end up at my house or his until the wee early hours. At 3am I'll be drunkenly in?the middle of a monologue about how badly the world is treating us and he'll go and stick Jaws on.

His liver and kidneys are made of steel. Alex is the last man standing every time we go out. I'd help him out in a heartbeat. I'm his favourite person in the media; he hates everybody else. I like being his crutch. Our friendship has blossomed into a really great thing.

'My look became leather waistcoats and pointy boots. And it's all Dave's fault': Alex Zane. Photograph: David Fisher/Rex Features

Dave and I didn't hate each other; we're just both competitive. We'd started our careers on the same day, and when you're on the way up and someone in the same boat as you says: "I just got a job hosting another show…" you're like: "What?! I mean… congratulations."

Only once did it ever come to a confrontation with both of us standing in the middle of the XFM offices screaming at each other. We were doing a radio feature involving a series of stupid challenges and the one we came to blows over was "Who could hold their breath for the longest?" I accused Dave of breathing through his nose and he swore he wasn't. In our 11-year friendship that was our worst argument. The fact remains: he was cheating!

Now that we're older, that competitive edge is gone. We're not champing at the bit. Superficially we're not similar. But underneath we could mirror each other. Dave likes football, I?like movies. In the summer of 1995, he liked Oasis, I liked Blur.

When we meet it's a huge release of everything we've had to say to each other over the past few months. There's a great deal of hugging. Imagine those Gillette adverts where two men hug then quickly release. Yeah, ours go on for a bit longer. Every event I go to, I think: "God, I look pretty good in this suit." But no matter what, Dave will be in a better suit. It takes me back to the early years at MTV when management had to give us different identities because we both wore blazers. They said: "Alex, Dave's gonna be wearing blazers on TV, OK?" So guess what my look became? Leather waistcoats and pointy boots. And it's all Dave's fault.

Alex Zane is an ambassador for British Airways Silent Picturehouse – a pop-up film event in London (ba.com/silentpicturehouse)

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