Son urged Mackenzie Crook to appear in Merlin

Mackenzie Crook has revealed how his star-struck son urged him to appear in BBC series Merlin.

Jude thought his dad's appearance alongside actor Colin Morgan - who plays Merlin - was even more exciting than mingling with Hollywood A-listers.

He said: "He has met everyone from Johnny Depp to Al Pacino to Steven Spielberg - but he has never been more star-struck than when he met Colin."

Crook, who rose to fame as Gareth in BBC hit The Office, plays Cedric, a conman who is possessed by the spirit of an evil warlock when the series returns on September 19. "Playing baddies is the most fun," he said.

The actor, who has appeared in films such as Pirates Of The Caribbean joked that for all the string of unsavoury characters he has played, he was even more unpleasant in reality.

"My children have seen me as a skeletal pirate, a vampire and Gareth Keenan. Dad is far more scary in real life."

And he praised the TV adaptations of the Arthurian legends which had his family gripped during the first series. "They are our equivalent of the Greek and Roman myths, timeless stories that tap into the soul of the British," he added.