JR: We've got Mr Anthony Head here with us ladies and gentlemen and he looks about the same age as June Brown, I'll be honest with you..

ASH: I'm wearing well (giggles)

JR: God, since we last met you've aged, look at the state of you … look at the state of him, Andy. Had a lot of late nights?

ASH: Lots of late nights

JR: You don't look so bad, I'm just joking. Look Anthony, it's very nice to have you back on the show..

ASH: It's very nice to be back here

JR: You've got a new series coming on BBC2 which I'm really pleased you're on because I saw the trailer for it the other day and it looks terrific.

ASH: It is cool

JR Manchild, it's called

ASH: Manchild

JR: What's the premise?

ASH: It's men being children, basically.

JR: But men of a certain age?

ASH: Men, yeah, in their 40's well you know we never actually do outgrow the child in us, much to our women's chagrin

JR: Middle youth, they call it now

ASH: Oh yeah, I don't know about that … that's crap, innit? But it is about men, you know, never quite growing up and it's also about.. it's a subject that has been dealt with in various forms but this time basically we have the means to enjoy all the things that apparently we're supposed to enjoy, you know the fast cars, the motorbikes and leather trousers (giggle)

JR: Oh dear

ASH: Yeah and thankfully I don't … no, yes I do appear in leather trousers (giggle)

JR: Oh a man of 48 stumbling around in leather strides…

ASH: mmm.mmm.mmm

JR: That's awful, innit?

ASH: And … um … this time basically we've you know we paint ourselves as these guys who've got absolutely no cares at all and I was a bit worried that women might go "Uhhh, these people are disgusting" basically that they've dumped their wives and kids and they've made their money and they're now strutting their stuff but it is very funny and it very soon becomes apparent that it's not all that it's painted

JR: Cos it does sound inherently loathsome, the way you've…

ASH: It does… hugely loathsome but it is actually hugely funny and I went to see a couple of previews with Sarah, my partner, and I was very nervous as to what she was going to think of it because it is, you know when I first read the script I thought these people are not remotely likeable but in fact it is very clever writing because it brings it around um very gently that you actually realise what real life is about..

JR: They're flawed characters

ASH: (whispers) they are flawed, very, very flawed

JR: But then that is reality as we all know. Great cast you're working with there - you've got Don Warrington with you, who's a terrific actor, Ray Burdis who's underrated

ASH: Very underrated.

JR: And Nigel Havers, of course, the Charmer…

ASH: The charmer

JR: Because normally on a set you'd be the charmer

ASH: You think?

JR: Yeah I think so but Nigel he's top charmer, you're just like a second division charmer

ASH: second class charmer (giggles)

JR: He's actually quality charmer and you're just like if we can't get Nigel Havers we'll get Anthony Head in, we all know that. You must get scripts all the time where they've crossed his address out on the envelope and you're next…

ASH: We wish we could have had Nigel Havers but…

JR: Nigel can't do it but Anthony Head's always available. (all giggle)

ASH: For summer seasons (giggle)

JR: There's a picture of him here advertising it but Nigel I suspect has got his own leather pants

ASH: Um … actually … I think I brought.. I did actually bring a pair of leather pants back with me from Buffy and.. because I had worn them to something over there and Sarah said "you are never, ever wearing those anywhere near me" so I bought them to Manchester…

JR: Because in LA you can get away with that kind of thing

ASH; you can

JR: It's applauded in fact

ASH: It was a rock and roll "thang" and I thought I could get away with it but Sarah wasn't with me, she said, you know your other half must say "I'm not going out with you in that."

JR: My wife's stopped saying that, she's given up, she knows.. come on look at me now, you know.

ASH: It's a good tie (giggles)

JR: Just hopes it's mildly bearable

ASH: I take my hat off to you, you are dressing for the radio which is remarkable

JR: Jane just says you know as long as I'm not wearing anything that actually does light up involving batteries she'll let it go.

(stallion posing pouch neighs!!)

JR: Exactly I rest my case now let's talk Buffy…

(posing pouch keeps going)

ASH: God, it doesn't stop does it…

JR: Take it off, put your trousers back on…

ASH: (giggles)

JR: Buffy is just a huge, huge phenomenon in the States

ASH: It's excellent

JR: It's big over here I know but over there and if you wanted to, I guess, you could coast now forever and just appear at those conventions where fans turn up and want you to sign things

ASH: Apparently people do, I mean I bumped into a really sweet actor who basically makes a living out of going to Star Wars conventions. I mean he appeared in one of the first ones with a helmet on and (all giggle)

JR: That's it that was all he needed.

ASH: Yeah and he turns up and he flogs his photographs and he says it's paid his mortgage but.. um… I think I, they are interesting, I have to say but it is, it would be an odd way of earning a living all the time, I think I'd find it kind of unchallenging.

JR: What sort of exchange do fans of a show like that want from you when they meet?

ASH: I dunno, it's still…I mean I'm going to one tomorrow in Aberdeen but I went to one a while back, I went to a signing in a shop and girls fainted and I find that bizarre

JR: Yeah, so do I

ASH: Exactly but I mean, bless them, but

JR: Who'd come in, then, who was there with you?

ASH: Just a…. (giggles)

JR: Keanu Reeves

ASH; Well, I was wearing the horse (referring to Stallion posing pouch!)

JR: you were wearing your leather strides and possibly a string vest?

ASH: (giggles) actually no but that’s a good idea, I should try that one

JR: They're reacting to you and the character

ASH: fainted, fainted

JR: But you are a handsome man, you're a handsome man in a lived in way

ASH: That's very sweet of you to say so

JR: But you are you know you've been around the block but you're a good looking fellow

ASH: Been round the block that’s for sure

JR: But you're the best looking man in the room right now

Andy: No

JR: Yeah, he is the best looking man in the room - what you think me, Andy?

Andy: No, not at all

JR: You can't possibly be deluding yourself … but out of the men in the room right now if we had a line-up and there was sort a quality control thing we had lots of women and..

Andy: There's women next door

JR: Okay, hands up - we've got five women next door. Hands up who thinks Anthony is the best looking man in the room. One, two, three, four, five - there wasn't a moments hesitation.

Andy: That's my girlfriend as well

JR: Her hand was the first one to go up (all giggle). Yes, clearly you are apparently but at the same time you're the one who looks like he puts the most work in to stay that way - you can see there's a line round the outside of his face where the moisturiser hasn't come off from last night and he's still got one of his rollers in

Andy: The hairnet hanging out of the back of the jacket

JR: Anthony I didn't know, you've got an album out.

ASH: ohhh

JR: A couple of people have emailed us in, we didn't know about this, you're hiding your talent under a huge bushel. Dear Sir, that's very formal - from Judy Smith in Oz, are you interviewing Anthony Head

ASH: From Oz, what Australia?

JR: Yeah ask him to sing or play a track off his new album. We've got another one here - we've only got 2 mind, Dear Jon just found out you've got an old schoolfriend of mine on the show - oh this one's a schoolfriend

ASH; Oh hello

JR: Anthony say hi that's all and say that I unashamedly use the fact that I've seen him in his PJ's as a trump card in games of "my friends more famous than your friend" for years and this is from Penny Wilkinson formerly Jones. Do you remember Penny Jones?

ASH: Good grief!

JR: That's going back some, isn't it?

ASH: Wow!

JR: She says don't worry the children are all fine but if you can send some cash that would be terrific.

ASH: Wow

JR: By the way, she says, that play that you and Steven Hedges wrote, a school play, was either pretentious twaddle or genius.

ASH: (giggles) it was pretentious twaddle - oh bless her heart, bless her heart she was one of those girls at school who was, you know, the teacher's never quite, they thought she was a rebel

JR: What? Special needs?

ASH: No!

JR: I thought you were being polite!

ASH: No, she was cracking and basically I cast her

JR: Needed help, needed help with reading…

ASH: I cast her in this play and then all the teachers went "oh hello" and you know she was just really sparky

JR: When she's not drooling she's quite good, when she's not spitting at the teachers she's actually got some acting talent

Andy: He's at school and "I cast her in a play"

ASH: Yes

Andy: You don’t do that!

JR: And I bet you had no trouble getting the girls back then, good looking fellow like you. See you and me we had no girlfriends at all, no interest

ASH: I had a very big chin when I was at school

JR: I bet you were fighting them off with a stick

ASH: (giggles) very small, ice lolly stick

JR: Tiny little fellow with a big chin

ASH: (laughing madly)

JR: and leather trousers … "I'm casting you in my play Penny". In the special needs area, Anthony and Penny "let's make a play … then we'll have friends … then we'll show them … I'll be famous one day, you'll see" Anyway, lets not be horrible about people, there's no need for that.

ASH: (now down to giggles) No Penny was alright, so Hello Penny if you're listening good on you.

JR: Now Manchild is starting on BBC2, when is it starting?

ASH: On Tuesday

JR: I'm really looking forward to it, I'm going to make a point of watching that. I'm going to put that in my appointment to view book.

ASH: Do, it is very funny. 10 o'clock

JR: and it’s a 7 part series

ASH: It is.

JR: So you shot that when? Must be last year I guess? What the summer?

ASH: Yes just when …I shot it just before.. I went back for the beginning of the Buffy season and sort of fitted it in before and after. It was very cool.

JR: So that’s quite a workload you have on there, then

ASH: I like to keep busy

JR: And I suppose in your line of work you never quite know how long its going to last

ASH: No, course you never know, do any of us?

JR: Even Nigel Havers has moments..

ASH: I'm sure he does

JR: Lets play a track and sadly not one of Anthony's. You didn't bring your CD in at all?

ASH: Course I didn't

JR: Will you post us a copy? We won't mock it too much just post us a copy.

ASH Ohhhh

JR: Oh, go on.

ASH: It was basically it was a little, little thing. I'll talk about it in a minute

JR: Okay, lets play a track and talk about it afterwards.

JR: Well that's halved our audience then. What was that?

Andy: That was Larry Davis

JR: Was he making it up as he went along?

Andy: "I've been hurt so many times"

JR: That wasn't a chart hit when it came out was it?

Andy: No, it's a classic northern soul floor filler.

JR: And when you listen to it you can tell why

ASH: Floor filler (giggles)

JR: A floor filler - this is a record show we're not trying to fill floors.

Andy: We are

JR: We're trying to fill airtime

Andy: There are people up and down the country now filling their floors

JR: Yeah, 4 or 5 of them. The rest have all tuned into Radio 1, see what Theakston's playing. Is Theakston still on Radio 1 by the way?

Andy: Yeah he's still on there.

JR; Um, Anthony.

ASH: Yes Sir

JR: Anthony Head is with us, ladies and gentlemen, he's a recording artiste we've just established that. What's the deal with this CD of yours?

ASH: It's a very… its something basically a very, very, very small record company

JR: Well, that's kind of a given

ASH: Came to me (giggle) thank you … came to me out there and said would I like to make a CD with an electronic composer, George Sarah

JR: Cor, we hope you ran a mile

ASH: I did initially

JR: Did you initially think it was "soft cell" looking to replace Marc Almond.

ASH: hehehehe

JR: Saw you in some leather pants and thought, "he'll do."

ASH: Basically its just me and a bunch of friends we just had a good time and I'm not hyping it, it's not available in the shops over here.

JR: Its available on the internet, ladies and gentlemen, you can get it at www.cmhrecords.com

ASH: Actually, if you want to listen to some of it it's on www.musicforelevators.com cos the CMH records website is not wonderful

JR: And "Music for Elevators" is the name of the album and its got a song written by the guy who writes Buffy, created Buffy, Joss Whedon and what's the song….

ASH: Um … I dunno … it’s a sort of …he's kind of his roots are classic 60's stuff and I sort of I funked it up a bit.

JR: You haven’t listened to the album have you? And mind your language, we're on the radio. You're not at home now

ASH: FUNKED up I said. I said FUNKED up

JR: I don’t even want to hear that word, okay

ASH: (giggles) it's actually a sad word to use anyway at the best of times

JR: That's the trouble, you'll be saying "it’s a groovy track to boogie along to" next

ASH: I sound like this guy, someone who says "I don't know what category I should" sorry I've just found this CD on the desk

JR: We should explain we get sent a lot of CD's. Anthony's found a letter with one of them and he's going to read it out to you

AH: I hope will get released sometime this year and rescue me from the poorhouse I've been .. bla, bla, bla … I'd… it appears to .. doesn't fit into any discernible category to me it sounds normal

JR: Like your album

ASH: Exactly like my album

JR: See you're not alone out there and now let's talk very briefly about the Gold Blend adverts because, I'll be honest with you, I miss them, I miss them

ASH: Do you?

JR: I know you don’t but I miss them

ASH: The first time I went on your TV show I was a guest on Valentine's Day and you had me sitting at …I was the prize for some girl in the audience to have a romantic meal with…

JR: I remember this!

ASH: and I seem to remember the time was running out on the segment and this girl got sat down in front of me (giggles) and it was just like and?

JR: We didn't always think ideas through back then, we were coasting for a couple of years and we thought he's here, he does Gold Blend, fine, we'll give him away as a prize.

ASH: (giggling) the second time I came on the show - I remember it well - I did a sketch with you and Rowland

JR: Oh yes!

ASH: As the neighbour, next door

JR: Rowland Rivron

ASH: Rowland Rivron - as the neighbour who came in to borrow..

JR: I'm surprised you came back

ASH: (giggles)for some unknown reason I decided to play it as Prince Charles

JR: and no-one could work it out

ASH: No-one worked it out

JR: But the coffee adverts, they were great

ASH: They were alright

JR: They were great and you never ever got it on with Sharon, did you?

ASH: Not to my knowledge

JR: You should have done

ASH: You think?

JR: Well, who would have cared now..

ASH: (giggles)

JR: you know that's the great thing about life as you get older it doesn’t matter. I mean at the time there would have been a big fuss, your wife would have been upset, you'd have been in the doghouse but now it would have all been forgotten and everyone would have said well done

ASH: Coffee under the bridge

JR: Be a lovely memory for you and a good chapter in the autobiography which I'm sure you're thinking about writing

ASH: No

JR: I bet you will

ASH: No

JR: come on, for Buffy fans

ASH: (giggling) I've got nothing to talk about

JR: You could call it "A Stake in my life", or something like that.

ASH: Oh, that's good, that's catchy … um… the coffee ads were alright, they were okay.

JR: Did you get like free coffee

ASH: Only when I was… I was doing Chess and someone was interviewing me and the fans had brought this coffee jar in and he said "oh I see you get coffee" and I said "only because the fans bring it around to the stage door". The next day I got this trayload of coffee from nescafe.

JR: You're lucky that people didn’t actually throw it onstage as a kind of gift

ASH: They probably thought about it

JR: granules would have been okay but actually in the jar …

ASH: would have hurt a bit

JR: would have broken the stride of your performance a tiny bit, so you were in Chess, were you?

ASH: I was

JR: Now that was the musical written by one of the blokes out of Abba

ASH: No, the 2 guys, Bjorn and Benny

JR: And Tim Rice, wasn't it

ASH: Tim Rice

JR: I never saw it - like many, many people

ASH: (giggles)

JR: Was it good?

ASH: It was great music - the book was flawed - it was written originally I think as a musical piece and the story never kind of … they tried it again on Broadway and it sort of .. but it was good music, good songs.

JR: So you've always been a singer then?

ASH: Yes

JR: Could you…

ASH: My first job was Godspell - straight out of drama school - I did a National Tour

JR: and how old were you then

ASH: How old was I? Oh…. 23, something like that, 24?

JR: Imagine being and this is back then, must have been about 1976

ASH: 1976

JR: 1976 okay, you're a 23/24 year old. We know he's a looker

Andy: Big chin

JR: He's probably quite buff, he's worked out

ASH: (giggles) not remotely

JR: He's touring in Godspell I bet you've had more sex than everyone else in this building put together.

ASH: (laughing) I was the understudy!

JR: Exactly! You didn't even have to go onstage - lolling around backstage dressed as Jesus, fighting them off with a big stick, possibly a crucifix shaped one, I don't know.

ASH: (laughing)

JR: I bet you've had a … what a life, you've had Anthony, what a life.

Andy: And he's still got a lot to go

JR: And then free coffee to look forward to as well

ASH: Do you know, we were just talking about it outside, it is a very unfortunate fact that as you grow older your nose and your ears continue to grow… isn't that seriously disconcerting?

JR: You might want to put a record in now, I think. I think he's going off the rails

ASH: It's very worrying…

JR: Oh I tell you what, when you see Alzheimers first grabbing hold of a keen mind it’s a very tragic thing. Never mind Iris Murdoch, we'll make a movie about you. "Anthony - the film". "I used to act you know"

Andy: "Penny"

ASH: Who am I?

JR: Lets have a quickie then we'll have a bit more chat before we head home

JR: We've got Anthony Head here with us, he's in a brand new show starting on BBC2 which is well BBC's the only place to work of course

ASH: Well, BBC2, we get away with some stuff on this show

JR: Well, it’s a fantastic time and its called Manchild and its about blokes who are a little bit past it, lets be frank

ASH: Thank you

JR: and still act like they're young men

ASH: Exactly

JR: They're out there they still think they can do it. They've got the motorbike, they've got the leather pants

ASH: Growing old disgracefully as they say

JR: And Nigel Havers who is, let's face it, the Cad, the bounder.

ASH: He is a cad, he's very very funny … four guys who've got completely different comedy and it fits, it works really well together

JR: I'm really looking forward to it and it’s a very timely sort of subject isn't it?

ASH: I think so and it's got, basically, my fear was will girls get it? And Sarah gave it the thumbs up and said it's going to run and run.

JR: Sarah's your partner, of course

ASH: Yes, she is

JR: How long have you been with her for?

ASH: 18/19 years something like that

JR: Wow, that's a long time

ASH: She's stunning, absolutely stunning

JR: And you've been faithful for most of that time?

ASH: Yes (laughs)

JR: Well, you're an actor, come on, as long as 70% of the time you're faithful that's good going for an actor, she must know that.

ASH: Well, in answer to what you were saying before, I was painfully shy

JR: Liar

ASH: Painfully shy

JR: Look at that, he's smiling like the cat that got the cream again and again and again while you and I were faces pressed against the window. It's like looking in at a party and there's Anthony enjoying it with Nigel Havers …

ASH: No, she's like a gift, she's fantastic

JR: Well, it's really nice to see you again, genuinely I am thrilled you're doing so well because you deserve it, you're a great actor …

ASH: Thank you.

JR: I would just love to see a coffee reunion, that's all, that's all I'm asking.

ASH: Dream on, well, I wouldn’t say no.

JR: Get Bjorn and Benny to write a musical version of it. "Café" the musical.

Andy: "Blend"

JR: Give us a bit of singing, go on.

ASH: No

JR: Oh, go on, give us a bit of Chess

ASH: No

JR: Go on "I've got a black piece, you've got a white piece". I don't know the songs obviously but it must have been something like that. "Checkmate, checkmate, here comes the checkmate."

ASH: Exactly like that!

JR: "Knock over the pieces, my love, cover the piece of my heart" that was close

ASH: Absolutely, bang on.

JR: "Black and white, black and white are the colours of my life, a chequerboard upon which I play, black and white". Come on Anthony join in - it's your show!

ASH: (laughing madly)

Andy: "Pass me the rook"

JR: "Pass no draughts, no draughts or solitaire, it's chess, its chess the play the game we love it." Come on.

ASH: I'm stunned

JR Anthony, thanks for coming in, it was great having you

ASH: Thank you

JR: Good luck with the convention tomorrow and with the new series and Buffy when it comes back. Next week we've got Stephen Fry, Clive James and Lee Evans. That makes all this weeks guests look like paltry B division. That's the show to listen to.

ASH: I am humbled

JR: That's a great line-up

ASH: That's a seriously good line-up

JR: Well, now you can see we didn't want you on next week. You wouldn't have shone quite as brightly.