Im A Celebrity A quick chat with Nigel Havers

Nigel Havers tells us why he’d love to do a costume drama, hanging out with Mick Jagger, and his return to comedy in BBC3's Lunch Monkeys (Thursdays)...

After I’m A Celebrity... you went into panto. What was that like?
“I have just walked off from a children’s matinee performance ,so we had 2,000 screaming kids in the room, which is quite interesting. And working with Joan Collins is fantastic, we’re having a ball up here.”

So what’s behind this busy patch?
“I thought I’d do a sort of variety year really, one way or the other.'

And, of course, there is the BBC3 comedy Lunch Monkeys?
“I love doing comedy and I used to do a fair amount of it. Years ago I did a series called Don’t Wait Up and comedy is just something that I enjoy doing, especially when it’s as well written as Lunch Monkeys.”

Is it true that your father, Lord Havers, who was Attorney General and later Lord Chancellor under Margaret Thatcher’s government, once defended Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on drugs charges in 1967?
“Yes and I got to hang out with them when I was 15. It was the best thing that ever happened. It was an amazing summer, I will never forget it, and it will all be in this movie that I’m planning to make about the trial. I’m hoping to play my dad.”

Were you ever interested in becoming a barrister yourself?
“I always wanted to be an actor, largely because my parents used to take me to the theatre when I was a child. My brother on the other hand, who’s a year and a half older than me, is a lawyer, so the family tradition lives on.”

What has been the highlight of your year?
“Coronation Street. I don’t think I’ve had such fun in years - it was great and working with Sue Nicholls, who plays Audrey, was just a dream. If any actor gets offered Corrie, for heaven’s sake take it because it’s the best job in the world.”

What would you like to do in the future?
“I love costume drama such as the new Upstairs, Downstairs or Downton Abbey. People say, 'Why do you need two costume dramas?' Ridiculous. I’d like to see five or six personally, and I’d love to be in one of them!”