When I was a child, the television was mainly for me and my siblings. Our parents weren’t too keen on it themselves, probably because they were busy with work and their own lives. They would watch it for an hour, late at night, after we had gone to sleep, but otherwise they would sit up telling each other stories and entertaining themselves with their memories instead – that was their tradition.
I loved adventure shows, though, and would watch all kinds, from William Tell to Robin Hood, The Lone Ranger and this strange show, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, about a Mountie in Canada who would rescue people in the freezing cold with his dog, King, pulling a sled alongside. I loved any show with a dog as the lead, actually – programmes such as The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin – so much so that I even named my own dog King after the Mountie series.
I was always taken by any programme where the hero performed good deeds in their adventures. The Lone Ranger was fantastic. He rode into town with his mask on and with his sidekick, Tonto – a character that in hindsight would now probably not be allowed. But they would do these good deeds and, when they were done, the Lone Ranger’s massive white horse would rear up, he’d say: “Hi ho, Silver away,” and he and Tonto would head off into the wildernesses of the US to help others.
Looking back, watching these shows might have influenced me to get into acting – not because of the performances exactly, but because I wanted to ride around the wild west like The Lone Ranger and be heroic, too. All these years on, I still haven’t had the chance – but it could come any day now!
When I was asked to do The World According to Grandpa, I thought it was a delightful idea, because it was this same concept of telling fantastical stories to very young children and seeing whether you could capture their imaginations. It’s creating that same sense of wonder in their lives.
The diversity of the show is also a very powerful aspect of it. That grandpa could be anybody and I am representing one who is recognisable to lots of children out there.
I always fall in love with stories and the challenge is to tell them in a way that can inspire your audience – that’s what continues to stay with you.
The World According to Grandpa is on weekends on Channel 5 at 9.20am
