The Royle Family's Ricky Tomlinson said he still gets his iconic catchphrase 'my a***' shouted at him 50 times a day.
It's been almost a decade since he last played loveable Jim Royle on the sitcom, but the character is still just as popular.
Ricky, who was born in Lancashire but has lived in Liverpool for most of his life, said fans can't resist shouting the catchphrase at him.
He told the Daily Star : “If I go out at about 8am, by lunchtime if 50 people haven’t shouted across the road or as they pass me, ‘My a***’ then I think there’s something wrong.
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"And when I go to watch Liverpool play, people come over and ask if I’ll do a photo with them. I say, ‘Certainly, you can have as many as you bloody want’. That’s what it’s about.”
Ricky said he also still gets letters from devoted fans.
He added: “I love people who write in. I still get fan mail about The Royle Family and I love to reply to them.
“They take the time and trouble to write to a character called Jim who they feel like they know. They say, ‘You’re just like my grandad’. There are loads of people like Jim in real life.”
The Royle Family ran for 25 episodes between 1998 and 2012, and Ricky said he still often catches episode on the TV.
But ever since its creator and his co-star Caroline Aherne, who was raised in Wythenshawe, passed away in 2016, it has been bittersweet.
He said: “I love it when I see episodes. It is emotional to watch them. I loved Caroline Aherne. She was a one-off. She was so talented.”
“When we finished work on a Friday, Caroline used to put a couple of decorators’ tables up and she’d put a few cans of Sainsbury’s mild beer for me, a couple of cans of lager for the camera lads and there would be a couple of bottles of wine for Sue Johnston and Caroline", he added.
“And after every episode was finished, everyone from wardrobe to make-up got a lottery ticket off Caroline.”
Although Ricky has had a string of film and TV roles, he said he still 'stocks up on things in pound shops'.
“I still live in Liverpool. I wouldn’t like anywhere else. And I stock up on things in pound shops. I’m very happy with life", he said.
“I’ve had a fabulous life, I’ve got a tremendous wife and a lovely family.”
Ricky said he still doesn't think of himself 'as a real actor'.
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He said: “I am a ham. I am not a bloody actor. I am a builder.
‘I didn’t get into the acting game until I was into my 40s – and I got in by chance.
“When I was making The 51st State with Samuel L Jackson, I told the director, Ronny Yu, ‘I’m not a real actor, so just tell me what you want me to do and how you want me to do it’.”
Ricky added: “But I love this game.
“I enjoy it and I’ve met some lovely people. I’ve been very lucky.”
Ricky is back on screen on Sunday (September 19) on Million Pound Motorhomes.
The star is taking a trip down memory lane to be reunited with a motorhome he hasn’t seen in years.
He said: “I bought it years ago from Geoffrey Hughes, who played Twiggy in The Royle Family.
“I had wonderful times in it. Wonderful holidays going to camping sites in north Wales and up to the Lake District. It’s been in storage for yonks and this show is about me going on a journey to see how it’s lasted.
“People will get a bit of a shock when they see the state of it – it needs a restoration job on it.”
Ricky went on to reveal there's no chance of him retiring any time soon – because it would annoy his wife.
He said it's important he gives Rita some space, so even at 81 he wants to keep on working.
He said: “I don’t want to retire. What would I do? I’d be under Rita’s feet all day. I’d get on her nerves.
“I like to keep myself busy. Rita makes sure I’m bloody busy. If I sit still for five minutes, she’s on my back.”
He added: “There is so much to do.”
