Which film star/musician/artist/writer/other figure do you admire?

June Brown [who plays Dot Cotton in EastEnders]. We have been close friends for 30 years. I admire her for all her accomplishments over the past 65 years in theatre and television, her will to help others in this field, and her outstanding work for charity. I believe the time has come to hear Dame June Brown!

Do you remember the first record you bought – what was it and where did you buy it?

Neil Sedaka’s Oh Carol from Bellman’s in London Road, Brighton.

Do you have a favourite film?

I just love all Roman epics.

In those days they never filmed in Rome, they built it all on set at MGM Studios. What work and scenery to look at!

How about a favourite book?

Julie Andrews’ Home.

I just love autobiographies – you tend to get a real insight into the rich and famous, I think. I have a huge collection of these types of books and I read them over and over again.

Is there a song or individual piece of music you always come back to?

Proms, Proms, Proms!

I just adore the Last Night Of The Proms, in fact classical is my middle name. I sleep with it on all night.

Which TV programme couldn’t you live without?

There are two programmes I never miss. In fact, I record them if I’m out. The first is Emmerdale. The storylines leave you wanting more and more. Question Time is the other, if only to listen to our panel giving answers to straightforward questions from the audience. I have to check myself at times to make sure I'm not watching a comedy programme! I hope the panel doesn’t expect us to believe all the replies!

Tell us about any guilty pleasures lurking in your CD or film collections…

Many people deride others for watching and enjoying old British sitcoms, accusing them of being sexist, racist, or very un-PC by today’s standards. Those were innocent days and I love watching shows like Steptoe And Son and On The Buses.

Tell us about a live music/theatre/cinema experience that sticks in your memory?

At the age of five or six I remember bunking in to The Duke Of York’s Picturehouse in Preston Circus. We didn’t have much money so in those days it was the only way we could see a film. We walked all the way from Bevendean.

It was strange we never got caught.

Is there a book/record/film/play/person that made you want to do what you do now?

As a young lad, I was always at the Brighton Hippodrome stage door where I would wait for hours just to see the stars arrive, get their autographs and have a little chat.

They were real stars, nothing like the so-called celebrities we have today.

That was where I got my love of theatre.

How will you see in 2012?

This year will be the tenth anniversary of The Alternative Pantomime and we are showing A-LADD-IN at the Pavilion Theatre, which will keep me more than busy.