ACTOR Christopher Strauli reckons it's impossible to get on TV these days unless you're 'young, talentless and common as muck'.

He's got a point. Best known for playing the teddy bear-clutching Norman Binns in 80s hospital sitcom Only When I Laugh, Strauli's career came of age in the Brideshead era, when actors like Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews made a positive boon of having a public school education and a cut-glass accent.

Strauli may not be public school educated - he went to a grammar school - but his Home Counties accent is as plummy as they come.

Sadly, it means TV directors aren't exactly falling over themselves trying to get hold of him in these more politically correct times.

"There was a chance of a job a few months ago. Someone said 'We don't want him, he's too posh'," says the actor with mild astonishment.

"I'm not that posh. I was just brought up in the Home Counties and speak the Queen's English.

"I loathe the bad use of English language and the fact we are now texting each other and using abbreviations. I've always loved the English language."

Casting directors' prejudices aside, the 56-year-old actor has enjoyed considerable success both on stage and TV.

"TV was where I had my first success. If you're known on TV, you can go into the theatre and demand good parts. That's the way it worked for me," he says.

"I've always enjoyed TV. Only When I Laugh got 18 million viewers, so when you walk down the street, one in three people you meet will have seen you."

The recognition that comes with success wasn't always welcome, though. "It was rather difficult. As soon as you catch their eye they say 'I know you from somewhere!' They think your son was in their Scout pack or they taught your daughter to play the guitar.

"I took my wife and four children to Alton Towers once, when several coach loads of children turned up. They all started shouting 'It's him off the telly!' I had to pretend I wasn't him - I told them I just looked like him. I think with hindsight I could have handled it much better."

Strauli trained as a teacher before pursuing his true ambition of becoming an actor and enrolling at Rada.

Today he is best remembered for his comedy roles, including a part in the film of hit 70s sitcom Rising Damp.

"Richard Beckinsale died shortly before they began filming, so they came to me and asked me to do his part.

"It was an unhappy experience. I found Leonard Rossiter very difficult. He wanted to do the film with Richard and he had to do it with me.

"On my very first day I met all the actors at Elstree. Leonard said 'It worked before, so if it doesn't work this time we'll know whose fault it is'. He may have said it in a joking way, but there was a part of him that was quite bitter."

Although his favourite roles have been dramatic, Strauli says he loves the vocal response of a comedy audience. His latest role, as a policeman in the Ray Cooney farce It Runs in the Family, has scored high on the giggle-ometer.

"The laughter I hear every night is very exciting. We've never had an audience who haven't fallen out of their seats with laughter."

However, he doesn't believe comedy acting requires any specialist skills - just good timing and a feel for the material.

"Good actors are good actors. Most good actors can do anything.

"But I enjoy making an audience laugh, no matter what sort of play I'm in. It's the immediate knowledge you have made it work."

It Runs in the Family is at the Pier Theatre, Bournemouth from Tuesday until Sunday July 6. Box office: 01202 456456.