In the Fifties Gilbert Harding was one of the UK's most well-known faces.

Perhaps best known for his outrageous performances on What's My Line, he was our first TV celebrity and was famous for savaging guests, earning himself a reputation as "Britain's rudest man".

He was also a homosexual at a time when it was still illegal and, as information about his scandalous sexual antics became known, his glittering career came under threat, culminating in his vicious outing on television's Face To Face.

Harding is portrayed in an assured performance by Edward Woodward, best known for his part in hit American TV show The Equalizer and the iconic thriller The Wicker Man.

Now aged 72, he was inspired to return to the stage after a long absence by the quality of this compelling story about the private life of this very public man.

"I had made the decision not to do any more theatre," says Woodward. "It's the hardest discipline of all. Then this play arrived and it completely changed my mind."

Like most of his generation, Woodward clearly remembers Harding.

"He really was an extraordinary man," he explains. "In the Fifties, there was only one television channel. Most of the game shows were quite bland and Harding stood out a mile from the rather formal BBC style.

"He was indeed the rudest man both on and off screen, he was often blind drunk and we would all switch on to see what Gilbert Harding was going to get up to next."

Harding was a Brighton resident and some of the play's characters are still living here today while a good part of the play takes place here too.

It's also exactly 40 years since Woodward first appeared on the stage in the city in 1962.

However, after touring, Woodward has found theatre "too exhausting, too tiring and too frightening."

He suffers from a real sense of stage fright, which makes every night seem like his first and, although he admits the fear can fire up a performance, "in the end, it gets rather wearing."

"This is a one off," Edward continues. "This is my au revoir."

He still plans to do more TV "and other things" but as far as the stage goes, Brighton marks not only the last of the tour but also the last of his career.

"It's time to let go and take life a bit easier," he says.

For Devonshire Park Theatre, call 01323 412000.

For Theatre Royal, call 01273 328488.