Den had to die but I'm happy to live on in his shadow

But that's something he's absolutely fine with.

As Grantham says, Dennis Waterman can't shake off Minder. And John Thaw couldn't shake off Regan '“ despite becoming Morse.

But he has never seen Den as a millstone in any way. "It's better to be known as a character who is firmly embedded in people's minds than have people say to you 'What do you do?'"

The mantle is one he's still delighted to carry, however dead the fictional Den might be.

"It has opened up a lot of doors. I am now doing theatre, which is what I love."

The latest play is the Francis Durbridge thriller Murder With Love, which is at Worthing's Connaught Theatre from September 15 to September 20.

For the full interview, see the West Sussex Gazette issue dated September 10.