Liverpool-born Clive is also an author, singer and musician and the younger brother of David Swift [Henry Davenport in Drop The Dead Donkey]. Clive, 78, who lives in London, is divorced from the novelist Margaret Drabble, with whom he has three children and four grandchildren.

“When I was 16 at Clifton College public school, we had a play competition, which was judged by the director of Bristol Old Vic. When my group won, he whispered to me, ‘You will go on the stage, won’t you?’

“While the prospect of studying English at Cambridge sounded grim, the bonus was that they had a thriving theatre where I met my mates Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen.

I also met Margaret, who was a very good actress, and we married in 1960.

“My stage debut was in 1959 as Bushtact in Take The Fool Away, but I was so excited I dried after the first line. Ten years for Peter Hall at the RSC followed, with highlights including understudying for Peter O’Toole as he prepared for Lawrence Of Arabia.

“My TV work began in 1963 in Love Story, with Warren Mitchell. Regular work included my first film, Catch Us If You Can (1965), starring Dave Clark, with me as an advertising executive, and then I played Johnny in Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy (1972), with Billie Whitelaw as my wife.

“We were discussing our marriage when Hitchcock said, ‘No – shut up. You just come in, say your line and go away.’ With Hitchcock, you did as you were told.

“For the next 20 years, I worked solidly as a character actor on stage, TV and radio, I wrote books on acting and taught drama. I could walk the street unrecognised, but all that changed with Keeping Up Appearances.

“I was reluctant to accept the part of Richard until it hit me that Roy Clarke also wrote Last Of The Summer Wine. Patricia and I got on very well; she’s from Birkenhead – not too far from my birthplace. Like me she’s very musical and plays the piano and she was very loyal to me. That show is the only proper money I’ve earned, because it was a global success and it’s given me a good pension that I might never have had.

“Patricia decided to stop because she loves the theatre and she started doing Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. I understood, although I was worried that I would struggle for new work, but I was wrong and kept busy with theatre, Born And Bred and The Old Guys with my close friend, Roger Lloyd-Pack (who died in January), whom I miss dearly.

“Although I’ve been lucky to spend 55 years acting, it’s The Actors Centre in Covent Garden that has made me most proud. It’s helped many actors since I started it in the 70s when I realised they needed a meeting place when work dried up, which often led to drink and depression.

“I’m a family man and proud of my children and grandchildren. My son, Adam, is a university professor, Joe, a garden designer, and Rebecca co-founded The Literary Consultancy.

“I’ve been teaching poetry speaking for years and I hope to write a book on speaking poetry. I write music, play and compose on the piano every day, I play tennis, when no one’s looking, and I often watch Arsenal.

“I’ve also toured in my one-man song and music show, Richard Bucket Overflows. Even now after nearly 25 years, people still shout, ‘Hello Richard’.

“They expect me to be as nice and placid as Richard and I’m really not like that!”