As he takes to the stage in a comic revival of Doctor in the House, Robert Powell comes across as an actor content with his life’s work.Chris Price caught up with him.

Speaking to Robert Powell there is one word which resurfaces again and again as he looks back on his career: fun.

There are no career ambitions left for the 67-year-old who starred as Jesus of Nazareth and went on to play Richard Hannay in The Thirty-Nine Steps.

As he prepares to take up a role alongside Rochester-based comic Joe Pasquale in a stage revival of Doctor in the House, there is only one thing he is concerned about.

“I tend to choose things I think will entertain me,” said Robert, who also starred in Holby City for six years until 2011 and appeared alongside Jasper Carrot in sitcom The Detectives in the 1990s.

“If the roles entertain me then I hope I will entertain the audience. If it doesn’t appeal to me then I avoid it. If it doesn’t appeal then I don’t know how I will get over to the audience that it is fun to watch.”

Doctor in the House has had various reincarnations. There was the 1954 film – the biggest box office hit of that year in Britain – six sequels and a television series.

It follows young student Simon Sparrow, who has to leave his first choice of lodgings to get away from his landlady’s amorous daughter, ending up with three amiable but less-than-shining fellow students as flat mates, including the work shy Tony Grimsdyke, played by Joe Pasquale.

Robert takes the role of short-tempered, demanding chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt who strikes terror into his inadequate undergraduates.

“He is not evil,” Robert insisted in his deep, considered tone. “He is just a little bit self-centred and completely authoritarian. He runs the hospital like his own regiment. He scares the students to bits but he is probably just a pussy cat underneath.”

Mainly a dramatic actor, Robert’s only foray into sitcom spawned one of his most memorable roles, as Detective Constable David Briggs in The Detectives. When Jasper Carrot landed a new Sunday evening slot on BBC1 earlier this year, The One Jasper Carrot, he wasted no time in getting in touch with his old co-star about reprising their roles for a few sketches for the show.

“Jasper rang me and said 'would you like to get involved’. Those characters will stay with us for the rest of our lives. We lived with them for seven years and it was huge fun to do it.”

Robert has appeared in the county various times over the past year performing recitals of the works of Charles Dickens. He appears with actress Elizabeth Garvie, best known for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1980 BBC dramatisation of Pride and Prejudice, and the pair do a similar evening with the works of Jane Austen.

“The reason they are fun to do is because they are fantastic characters for any actor to perform,” Robert said.

“I really enjoy doing Wackford Squeers from Dotheboys Hall in Nicholas Nickleby, the evil school master.”

Asked whether there have been highs and lows in his career, the response is warm and heartfelt.

He said: “It would be hard to pick one out. I have had a huge amount of fun being an actor.”

Many people still ask Robert about his role as Jesus Christ in the 1977 mini-series Jesus of Nazareth. Playing the role, Robert blinked only once the whole time he was on screen, aimed at trying to create a mystique around the character.
He said: “It was the hardest job I have ever done. It is just an impossible part to play. No one can play it. You hope you can get away with it but that is the most you can hope for.
“I did it because I was asked. It is as simple as that. You don’t go looking for it but if you get asked to do it you cannot say no to something very difficult. It was hard to find Jesus as a character.
“It was 35 years ago and I am deeply flattered that people remember me for it.”

Doctor in the House starring Robert Powell comes to Bromley’s Churchill Theatre from Tuesday, March 20 to Saturday, March 24. Tickets £12 to £32. Box office 0844 871 7627.