Peter Bowles stars in the second helping of BBC2 crime series Murder this week and the To The Manor Born star has spoken of his delight at being cast in the series.
"I’ve been acting for over 60 years and have read many TV scripts," says Peter, 79. "But this was the best script I have ever read."
Yet after reading the script, Peter was surprised to find that he would need to audition for the part and had to race back to London to get there in time!
"It was quite tricky because I was only told about it the day before," he explains. "I learned the lines while on the train down, then the taxi from the station took me to the wrong address and I ran about two miles to the casting session, which was at the top of a very large flight of stairs. I nearly didn’t make it!"
Peter stars as Greville Cotterall the Earl of Monmouth, an aristocrat desperately trying to save his family from ruin, in the second stand-alone film.
Most of Peter’s scenes took place at a country house in Scotland that doubled as the Monmouth Estate and Peter says he enjoyed special privileges from the house’s owner!
"The lady who owned the house wouldn’t let anyone inside," he says. "But she liked my work and I was allowed to sit in her drawing room and eat sandwiches and have a cup of tea!"
He was also a big fan of the filming style, in which actors looked talked straight into the camera, as if talking to the audience. "Every actor likes a close up!" he laughs.
Peter Bowles stars in the second Murder film ‘The Lost Weekend’ on Thursday 10 March at 9pm on BBC2
