Stafford Hildred - Sir David Jason--A Life of Laughter

Stafford: To Janet, Claire and Rebecca. Tim: To my mother Joy, and my children Emma, Oliver and Carole Anne.

D avid Jason was absolutely delighted by the prospect of going to Buckingham Palace in June 2005 to be knighted by Her Majesty The Queen. He was certainly surprised by the award, but without any false modesty he recognised it as a reward for a long and successful career for which he was extremely grateful. But he also knew it was a personal award to him alone and quickly came up with a perfect way to transform the personal honour into a real family celebration by getting married to long-time partner Gill Hinchcliffe, the mother of the couples adored five-year-old daughter Sophie Mae.

Id been with Gill for eight or nine years so getting married wasnt really an enormous change, said David afterwards, anxious as usual to play down any emotions, but the smiles on their faces told a different story. Because it meant devoted Gill and little Sophie were all the more part of his joy.

Close friends said later that finally taking the plunge into matrimony the day before going to the Palace pleased him every bit as much as being elevated to a knight of the realm.

It was all great fun, says David. My daughter was very amusing as usual. She said to her teacher before the knighthood, Im going to the palace with my daddy because he is being reunited with the Queen.

Davids wife and daughter are far and away the two most important people in his life and he flatly refuses to get carried away by being Sir David.

Months after he was honoured, David said, I still find it difficult to comprehend and get a handle on my title. If people want to use it they can, but I feel a bit guilty about it. I think that is because of my background.

The actor remains fiercely proud of his working class roots in north London and still retains many friends from the days before he was famous.

And the knighthood certainly did not signal any let-up in Sir David Jasons busy work schedule. He starred in ITVs highly successful epic two-parter Ghostboat, screened in April 2006. It was a remarkable project that began when David found himself thumbing through a book he was handed as a prop while filming an episode of his detective series Frost. The 1972 novel, by George Simpson and Neal Burger, told a supernatural submarine story that was not like anything that had been seen on television before. David was intrigued by the originality of the tale and full of respect for all the brave, real-life wartime submariners. The Germans called subs Iron coffins, noted the actor, because so many people died down there. It was one of the most expensive dramas ever made by ITV and it took all of David Jasons persuasive talents and popular appeal to get it made, but both ratings and reviews were excellent. David said quietly he was simply pleased to have provided a much-needed alternative to TVs usual diet of soaps, reality shows and police and hospital dramas.

He was just as pleased to sign up to appear in the first live-action treatment of Terry Pratchetts Discworld. The writer has watched Harry Potter, Narnia and The Lord of the Rings films break box-office records but for a long time resisted all attempts to transform his own best-selling series into the promised goldmine. He agreed to turn Hogfather, the twentieth book in the series into one of the most expensive films made for TV, by starring as Albert, Deaths two thousand-year-old manservant, in a 6million, four-hour film, for screening in two parts at Christmas 2006.

Pratchetts Discworld is a parallel universe that drifts through space, perched on top of four elephants which stand on the shell of a giant turtle. The Hogfather story takes place on the alternate universes version of Christmas, called Hogwatch. Its a time when the Hogfather delivers gifts to children but, when he mysteriously disappears, it is Death and his manservant Albert who take over the duties.

Hogfather was premiered at the Curzon cinema in Mayfair in London towards the end of November 2006 and was greeted with general approval and critical acclaim. David said of his role: It was a great opportunity to get back into doing funny characters, because I started my career playing mainly funny ones and I thought I was missing that a bit. Id been playing all sorts of serious roles, that Id enjoyed though you cant say that Frost is totally serious. But when this came along I thought well heres an opportunity to get back playing a funny character. I liked the idea of playing a silly loony really, thats what attracted me.

At the premiere David was at pains to congratulate the makers for breaking down the barriers to produce Hogfather on a limited budget, adding: I think youve achieved what the Americans would have thrown money at.

The successful adaptation of Terry Pratchetts Hogfather for the screen prompted Sky TV to plan a follow-up and this time the production team went back to the beginning of the Discworld series to bring to life the first two novels, The Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic. The first task for writer and director Vadim Jean was to merge the two books together to create one screenplay. It was a lengthy process, but once it had been fine-tuned it became apparent it would be the perfect vehicle for David Jasons talents especially as it transpired that the pivotal role of Rincewind, an incompetent wizard, was a role he had always wanted to play.

David said: I remember reading The Colour Of Magic when it first came out years ago. The central character was this failed wizard whod got a spell from the famous Octavo in his head. He was just such an amusing, endearing character. He was the sort of driving force behind the book, and I remember thinking to myself that this would make a great movie. It never came to pass, but I always kept this idea in my head that one day I would play Rincewind. I dont know why I had that belief in it. I never really thought that television could make it. I thought it was only something that big budgets could afford.