Be it on stage or the small screen, hes popped up everywhere from Shakespeare toSurvivors, fromCasualtytoGreen Wing.

To some, hes the suave, sharply dressed and, latterly, lapsed alcoholic Alan Johnson inPeep Show.

Now, hes appearing on BBC Radio 4 in a festive double bill of prestige productions.

Is that a taster of whats to come, or is that your bio?

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I hope its describing Famine and not the way I was throughout the recording!

Its the nature of the character, somebody who brings death and destruction and relishes it.

So maybe thats what its describing I certainly hope so.

Do you remember that series fondly?

Yeah, I do.

I was stunned by how fresh the memories were when I met Neil.

Its a beautiful thing to have something you did 18-odd years ago be so fresh in your mind.

So I immediately started reading the novel again, then I remembered what it was like reading that script.

Id never read a script like it, it was so evocative.

He was an original, really, and I was so pleased to get that role.

And it was a great costume!

Its no secret thatNeverwherefaced a few problems in production, but the casting certainly isnt one of them.

You would be up for reprising the role, then, if there was a remake or a continuation?

Oh gosh, yeah, like a shot.

I wouldnt think about it twice.

But its amazing, really, in just 20 years, how our palates have become more sophisticated.

We would be able to tell those stories again.

Now, were in the realms of the imagination.

Neil Gaimans called the Marquis his vision of a perfect Doctor.

What was it like being in the rumour mill when they were casting a new Doctor in 2008?

It was kind of extraordinary.

I felt very special to be touched a little bit by theDoctor Whostardust.

Do you know what I felt more than anything?

And that can be a lovely pat on the back.

Well, Ill never say never!

Alongside your work on British TV and stage, youve recently appeared in the HBO seriesThe Leftovers.

Is that a frustration and a fight that you recognise?

And British actors are doing well in America for the most part because weve been trained very well.

They dont really have the formal drama schools that we have.

So it is partly to do with the desire to get more work,.

The ethnicity issue is there, but it isnt as massive as all that.

Lenny is quite right to say that there should be more diversity on television, thats true.

On the other hand, thats very separate from actors working in America.

You didnt have to go to America, you wanted to go to America.

Thats why we do it.

So Id say the two things are separate: do we have enough diversity on television in England?

But that doesnt, and shouldnt lead to us all to run away to another country entirely.

It doesnt make any sense at all to me.

How has your experience been, going over to the States and working in the big HBO machine?

They are… Theyre the enthusiasts par excellence.

The Americans show the Brits how to be enthusiastic about stuff, including ourselves.

But it is nice going over there.

Im way too Euro-centric for that.

Well, I think, really, its to do with opportunities.

And if theyre not, then theyve got Colin Firth in them.

Theres nothing wrong with that, but he and I are unlikely to be up for the same roles.

And I wanted to prove them wrong.

allowed to play this character.

Even though [influential Russian poet Alexander] Pushkin was mixed race.

And thats what radio asks for, its a very distilled version of the craft.

Coming from a Shakespearean stage background, was that shift a challenge at first?

Or was that funny bone always there?

Oh god, it was always there.

Our profession is very compartmentalised.

It was always really clear who that character is.

Will we be seeing Johnson inPeep ShowSeries 9?

Weve talked about all sorts of scenarios with him.

But Im not sure if theyre going to be brave enough to take him out like that.

Is that an out-of-date credit?

Or was your scene cut?

It was definitely cut.

And Paul King was very nice about it, but his email went into my junk mail.

That was my second disappointment of Christmas.

The actors life, you know, its swings and roundabouts.

You have to run with it, or youll give up.

But there we are!

Paterson Joseph, thank you very much!