J: Anthony Head's become a sex symbol and a major star as the mild mannered librarian Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He keeps a close eye on young Buffy and her sexy teenage friends which I'm sure is very nice for him but he's back in Britain now for his latest role as a womanizer with a mid-life crisis. It's a question of … how can I put this delicately … his manhood…

CLIP OF MANCHILD

R: Unfortunately what you showed her isn't up to much is it?

ASH: Well, that's sort of the lead-in to what then transpires which is a great failure on my part…

J: Awwww

R: Is it nerves?

ASH: No (giggle) I'm told by the…um… Doctor that it's all about valves so I have an operation on my..um …

R: Valves

J: and then everything's alright?

ASH: Well, no then it becomes about psychological failure because he's.. I'm scared to test it out (giggles) and I end up going back to my ex-wife and saying "Can we test it out, please?" and she finds that extremely funny.

J: And is she generous enough to oblige?

ASH: Um … that would be telling but she does come at me with a knife initially (giggles)

R: It's a no then?

J: A Bobbit scenario

R: We had Nigel Havers on a couple of nights ago cos he's in it as well

ASH: He's a good man, he's an excellent man

R: It sounds a really funny series

ASH: It is excellent and I must admit that the idea of putting me and him, Don Warrington and Ray Burdis together was inspirational because each of us have different comedy rhythms and we work really well together and everyone was extremely helpful. It’s the first time I've ever been on a set where no-one sort of judged anybody and if you were having trouble with a gag someone would say "try it like that" and it would work and I have to say that Nigel is a comedy genius.

R: Now how are you finding life as a global star?

ASH: It's very hard (giggles)

R: Are you having fun with it?

ASH: It's fantastic, it's absolutely wonderful, I mean when I went over to the States 7 or 8 years ago I was hoping to be able to sort of enlarge the marketplace but stay on the map as it were because if you go over there and do a job that is never seen here you wipe the slate clean and when you come back no-one knows who you are but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the success of what I ended up doing.

R: Did you go to escape the coffee thing? Did you think well I'll go because I've done that and it’s a bit of typecasting.

ASH: Yes, basically I wanted to change people's perceptions - I was being perceived as that kind of smoothy, romantic leady sort of thing and it was limited and it meant that I was doing a lot of theatre but in terms of other things that I wanted to do…

R: and the moulah (cash for those of you who don't know!)

ASH: Well … um… yes (stutters a bit!). That always helps! But it was just … the opportunity was there and we sat down as a family and talked about whether it was a good idea to do it and Sarah was up for giving it a try and staying with the girls and I went out there and sort of found out about being lonely in LA which is … it’s a very salutary experience initially.

J: Why didn't you move the whole family out considering that it did go on for a long time?

ASH: Well, because we have a really, really beautiful home in Bath and Sarah's work is here although she has done training in the States, she has clients, we have horses.. sort of 8 or 9 horses and you can't just up and move them and it was basically on the understanding that it wasn't going to be forever.

R: And it's not because you've come back now…

J: You're doing a spin-off, aren't you? Over here…

R: From Buffy

J: From Buffy

ASH; Yes…

R: Look, he's got his own figurine (points to Giles action figure!)

ASH: Yes and he's got 14 moveable parts … (v proud!)

R: Really?

ASH: Yes and I'm told that's a great … (giggles madly)

R: It's very like you actually

J: Where's his glasses?

ASH: Ah well basically they said that without having the glasses plastered to my head they couldn't do it and I wanted removable glasses and we ended up with no glasses at all which is a bit sad but there is a special edition which is a fiesta Giles ..

R: We'll talk about that in a second but we were watching Buffy last Thursday and it was talkie Buffy and this Thursday's episode on Sky is singing Buffy

ASH: We get to sing!

R: Can we have a clip of that please?

CLIP OF GILES SINGING "WISH I COULD" ETC…. AND BUFFY SAYING "DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?"

ASH: Awwwww

R: Is she deaf?

J: Listen, I've got this theory about Buffy you see because I've only discovered it recently - our kids are avid fans and I've kind of become part of that and it seems to me .. you are every man's fantasy, aren't you?

ASH: Am I? (surprised)

J: You are every middle-aged man's fantasy surrounded by these young sexy people …

R: I thought you meant that we all fancied him!! (ASH laughs)

ASH: Well, okay but more so in Manchild because of the middle aged thing of having it all and all the toys and all and there being a physical problem but I suppose I am really.

J: But you're not in love with Buffy are you?

ASH: Oh lord, no, no, no, no, no - I'm a mentor

R: Don't be disgusting ...

J: Sorry, I have to ask these things - I'm an investigative journalist!

R: He looks after her Judy -Never a dark thought crosses his libido!

ASH (giggling madly!) Good lord no - Giles is a straight chap…

R: Good luck with the spin-off - what's it called?

ASH: Manchild

J: No, no this

ASH: It's either Ripper or Watcher

R: Well, good luck with that.

WEBMISTRESSES COMMENT: I would just like to say that for all those B/G shippers out there - ASH, even if he does know future storylines, wouldn't have been able to confirm anything anyway. I actually found it rather hopeful - Judy Finnegan has just started really watching "Buffy" and she's picked up on it ... there's hope yet ...

Thanks to "JennyF76" for letting me use these marvellous screencaps! Check out her marvellous Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson website