Nigel found his calling in life from a very early age.

I was sent to boarding school when I was very young - I was six years old. We did a Shakespeare play every summer, and I was cast very early on, when I was seven. And once you get cast, you do a play every year. So I got involved in acting very early, and by the time I was 13 or so, I really knew what I wanted to do. It’s very handy knowing what you want to do, I always think. I followed my dreams, as they say. It was something my parents couldn’t do anything about!

Next stop… drama school

I convinced my parents to let me go to drama school. It was in London - I chose it myself as it had 138 girls to 47 boys, which I thought as a ratio was quite good! Living in London in the 60s was fantastic.

I got my first few jobs whilst I was still at drama school. I was in a radio show first called Mrs. Dale's Diary, which was a bit like The Archers. And then I went on to do a couple of other things. So I'd already started, so to speak, when I did Upstairs, Downstairs. You just go up and audition for lots of jobs, and eventually you get one in a film. That's what happened in those days. And I was quite young - I made a movie called Pope Joan, and I was only 17 or something at the time.

Time to meet Anne Hegerty

Chariots of Fire went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars in 1981 – but Nigel had no inkling of how successful it would be.

We hadn't got a clue. There was practically no money to make the film, and we didn't really get paid very much. And even though we had to train for five months before we started filming, we weren't even paid to do that. We did it because we wanted to make a movie - we hadn't got a clue we'd end up in Hollywood for Oscar night! That was quite a journey. I remember when I found out we were nominated. David Putnam, the producer, rang me and it was a total surprise. Amazing.

He loved his time on Coronation Street and did three separate stints on the show starting in 2009, 2012 and 2018.

I was really pleased when they rang up and asked me to be in it, because I was a great fan of the show and had been since I was a kid. The part I played was a sort of modern version of the character I played in The Charmer. (Nigel played the titular character in the 1987 mini-series: a suave yet manipulative con artist – and murderer!) I kind of wanted to do it again, and I just loved doing it. They were very good to me, because they allowed me to come and go whenever I wanted. It was very flexible, so that made my life a lot easier.

Acting in a soap opera was quite a different experience.

It’s basically a learning game. You can sometimes do forty pages of dialogue in a day. It's day and night, learning your lines, getting up, doing the show, getting home and learning some more. It's quite an intense period, but I was with nice people - Sue Nichols (Audrey Roberts) and all of the ‘Platt family’, so I was very lucky.

He enjoys the diversity of the opportunities his career has brought him.

I have a very varied career, as they say. When I was young, I preferred the longer running parts, but now I'm quite happy just to do a cameo. You leave a job behind, you go on to the next one, and you're always still learning. I just take each job as it comes. Whatever happens, happens!

I started off doing a lot of costume drama. That's really where I learned my trade, in a way. But then I did a show called Don't Wait Up, a comedy. And I've been doing comedy ever since - I find it really fun to do. I did something recently called The Gentlemen, which I really enjoyed doing. I played a sort of bad character. I like to play a baddie, it's good fun. Someone's got to do it – and it's much easier than playing a good guy.

Last year I did a play with Patricia Hodge called Private Lives by Noël Coward, and it was wonderful to do that. It's great that I can do theatre, television, film and radio, it's a very varied life.

Nigel’s talents also extend beyond acting…

I present an afternoon TV show called The Bidding Room, which I love doing. I get people coming in, bringing a bit of junk, and I say to them,“Where did you find that? In a skip?” And it's a prized possession of their parents’ heritage!

I’m a Celebrity

National Television Awards 2016

His episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was a recent highlight.

I didn't realise anything about my ancestors, so it was quite something. They said, “Pack a bag” - and you've no idea where they're going to take you! My great, great, great grandfather was a cab driver in Colchester, a horse and cart. He made an absolute fortune - he became a millionaire in the 17th century. That was amazing.

He finds his career endlessly rewarding.

Every time I get a job, I'm pretty proud. Every film I've made has always been a proud moment. And any sort of first night of a movie is fantastic – to go to a screening the first time it's shown to the public. We took Chariots to the Cannes Film Festival, and it was a huge success there. That was a very proud moment.

He’s got no plans of stopping…

I’m doing Goggle Box with Julian Clary soon – we’re great mates. Then my one man show tour in October, then I do the pantomime at the London Palladium in December and January (also with Julian, we do it every year), and then I do more of The Bidding Room in March!

And what did Nigel make of his ‘appearance’ in the Wiltshire Farm Foods advert?

I was bowled over! When my agent sent me the photo to approve. I said, “Who's that?” And it was me! I thought it was great.

 And while we're on the topic of interviews, we also caught up with tennis ace, sports presenter and ‘Strictly’ superstar Annabel Croft about her incredible career, from Grand Slams to grand ballrooms! Catch the full interview here.