WORCESTER MP Robin Walker has come a long way over the last five years - but readily admits if fate took another turn he wouldn't be here at all.

It was 2006 when a fresh faced then-28-year-old got a call from Conservative HQ to say, seemingly against the odds, that he'd been selected as the party's prospective parliamentary candidate for Worcester.

From the outside you'd think he was a shoe-in, with his late father's legacy, Lord Walker, still in the hearts and minds of thousands of city people.

Yet at the time, at a national level, this broken party was desperately trying to repaint its image with white, middle class hopefuls being overlooked for those with more of that magic 'life experience' - women, ethnic minorities, small business owners.

Plus there was the age factor.

"When I decided to try and become an MP I expected they'd let me 'cut my teeth' and send me to Glasgow or somewhere completely unwinnable," said the 37-year-old.

"Plus I'd never done it before, but all of a sudden the Worcester seat came up and I managed to get onto this long list.

"I thought 'if I don't try for this I'll kick myself for the next 20 years' but I didn't expect to get it.

"I managed to get onto the long list of about seven people and thought 'I'm too young, they'll go for someone with more experience', there was a move towards the A-List (a sheet of top level candidates), ethnic minorities, women.

"We went through three rounds and each time, I remember being told I'd got to the next stage, and then I was told I'd got it - and I thought 'we've got a chance here'."

The ultimate irony was that despite his upbringing, living at the family home just outside Worcester as his dad Lord Peter Walker made waves in Margaret Thatcher's Government, his initial career ambitions were elsewhere.

His late father, who served as Worcester's MP from 1961-1992 and was the former Environment Secretary among five other ministerial positions, stood down from the Commons when Robin was 14.

After schooling in London he secured a scholarship at the University of Oxford's Balliol College, studying ancient and modern history before launching himself into work, eventually landing a job in financial PR at Finsbury, based in the City.

He enjoyed working with the media so much he was actually interviewed for one of six press officer jobs on Michael Howard's 2005 Conservative General Election campaign, but was instead given the option of being a personal helper for then-shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin.

He'd already volunteered in the 1997 and 2001 elections, what could go wrong?

But after taking it, the two soon realised Letwin was on the verge of a shock defeat in his West Dorset seat, and they dropped everything to head over there for weeks of desperate, last-ditch door knocking.

Letwin retained it with a majority of 2,461, and it was that experience which led Mr Walker to look at becoming an MP himself.

"It become obvious that he was more and more likely to lose his seat unless we got out there," he said.

"All of a sudden we were there in the thick of it, and it was that experience which really enthused me."

Finsbury let him work a four-day week from 2008 onwards and he bought a small flat near Sansome Walk, staying there or at his mum's house while he campaigned furiously, culminating in his 2010 victory, where he defeated former Labour MP Mike Foster with 2,982 extra votes.

So how does he feel five years on?

"It's hectic, busy, challenging, hugely rewarding, frustrating - all the things I thought it would be and more," said Mr Walker, who lives in Powick with wife Charlotte.

"It might sound a bit naff but the best thing about being an MP is having what I call this 'amazing key' where I can go in, sit down with all these interesting organisations and help make a difference."

He lists his achievements carefully, saying it's often those things which go under the radar which are most rewarding, like securing the impressive new church in Dines Green.

"When those new houses were built it was very clear the community wanted a church, and not just that but a meeting place, somewhere for weddings and funerals and that was so rewarding - it will hopefully last a generation."

His intensive attacks on rip-off payday lenders which have led to serious legislation changes, securing £6.7 million extra 'fairer funding' for schools with the promise of more, 10,000 new apprenticeships in Worcestershire and even the scrap metal dealers' bill, which he says has made "an enormous difference" to railways, churches and policing in Worcester, are also among his personal highlights.

A cancer campaign led to the eventual creation of the £22 million first-ever county oncology centre at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, while he says talks over city centre policing helped keep the team intact when it was threatened last year.

Dualling the A4440 Carrington Bridge, more school funding reform, changes to business rates and an upgrade to A&E at the Royal are all on his hit-list if he keeps Worcester - but he's realistic about his hopes.

And his father's legacy still lingers, with people still bringing his name up on the doorsteps.

"This will always be a seat where the major parties can win," he said.

"I just hope people know, even if they aren't Conservative, that I'd always put Worcester first. I do everything for this city.

"People said that about my father and I hope they say that about me."