David Jason

A show like the 'Only Fool and Horses' Christmas special got 24 million viewers, so practically everyone in the country was watching. But of course it's a different world now, with so many channels. And those kind of figures are really difficult to achieve. ”

I was a very shy sort of person, and by acting different characters, I could immerse myself and make them do what, perhaps, I wouldn't do. ”

When you had just three and then four channels, I could always find something that was watchable because the standard of TV was much higher. In those days, they had so much more money to put into so many less programmes. ”

How do I feel about being called a national treasure? I think it's marvellous if that's people's opinion. But I'd rather have the money than the label. ”

I'm happier being out of the limelight, at home with the family. ”

We were taught fortitude by our parents, who had gone through the war. Being a child then was fun. We could go out and play in the street - there were few cars - and we felt very safe. ”

We seem to have lost our British sense of humour. It's a great shame. We have to be so careful nowadays; we have lost a lot of humour because people are too frightened of getting too near touchy subjects. ”

Some actors retire, and some don't. ”

I don't watch 'The X Factor' any more. Why do I want to see someone say the same old thing - it's all they've ever dreamed about - then lose and burst into tears and go into neurosis? They just want to be famous - it doesn't matter how. ”

We get the impression through film and TV that Americans are violent gangsters with guns or upper-middle-class people in romcoms. I really liked the people. They were really warm. They could have been Brits. I mean that in the nicest possible way. ”