Small Prophets is the first ‘serious’ acting I’ve done since playing The Green Man in Worzel Gummidge. That lovely warm, rural series was written by Mackenzie Crook. I enjoyed working with him so much that when, six years later, he offered me the part of Brian Sleep in Small Prophets, I didn’t hesitate. Though I had travelling to do in Venezuela and a book to write on my return, by a stroke of luck, my Venezuela work was over at almost precisely the time when Small Prophets was to be shot. In May last year, I took a train up to Manchester for a read-through and in a high-ceilinged strikingly modern room which bore Victoria Wood’s name I first became Brian and met my screen son, Michael, played by Pearce Quigley.

Some read-throughs simply show how much work still needs to be done. Not Small Prophets. From the moment we first opened our scripts and read it through we knew that Mackenzie’s script and choice of actors melded together perfectly.

And so it was during the filming. The scenes came naturally to life and Mackenzie’s quiet authority made sure the humour, the emotion and the magic were perfectly balanced.

And now the response since the series aired seems to be proving that making good television doesn’t need tantrums or tearing your hair out. Getting it right doesn’t have to be agonising. If the foundations are right it just works.

For me Small Prophets was a delight to be involved in. I’m delighted that the viewers seem to think so too.

Watch all episodes now on iPlayer.