Handing it on

I've never had any regrets about the fact that being a gay man means that I won't have children. For one thing I don't think I have the patience and for another it means that I choose to invest in the future in different ways. Watching my many friends bring up their children with love and care makes it clear to me just what a difficult job it is and I  don't think I'd be up to it. I have some fantastic godchildren, some great friends in the children of my friends,  and  I've acquired a complete set of nephews and nieces from my partner Richard.

I do think it's very important however,  to try and help play a part in shaping things for the future, to pass on experience, and to give young people opportunities that perhaps weren't available for oneself.

For the last two years I have been in charge of the Alan Bates bursary award at The Actors Centre where I am chair of the board. It's an award set up in memory of the actor Alan Bates to help one new young actor coming out of drama school with the costs of starting off a career as an actor. It's a brilliant award, hotly contested, and it's been my pleasure and privilege to  mentor the winner both last year and this.

Last year's winner was the young actor Elliott Barnes Worrall, who has the added advantage of living less than half a mile away from us here in south London. We meet regularly, and I hope I manage to do a little bit to assuage his worries during periods of unemployment, and to keep him focused. Elliott is a whirlwind of creativity, a rap poet, and already passing on his knowledge to people younger than him in various local groups. For a young actor he's had great success starting with a national tour of " The loneliness of the long-distance runner" in which he played the lead. He'll be seen on our screens at Christmas  in Agatha Christie's "Poirot" and the icing on the cake is that he's just landed an 18 month contract with the Royal Shakespeare Company which will keep him in work until January 2015 both in Stratford and in London. It's a job he deserves and a job I'm sure he will learn a great deal from and use as a base for what I'm sure is going to be a successful career.

This year's winner was Adam Buchanan, who doesn't live within half a mile of us, but is no less talented and exciting an actor.   Last Saturday Richard and I took a trip up  to Colchester to see Adam who is playing the lead in the national tour of "The Butterfly Lion".  It's a beautiful story by the author of "War Horse" Michael Morpurgo,  and Adam doesn't leave the stage for the two hours duration of the play. He gives a beautifully sensitive performance, full of energy,  and exudes a natural charisma and watchability  that should stand him in good stead.  I'm not sure how he'll be after 11 weeks of giving that performance, but he could take a lesson from the fabulous Gwen Taylor with whom he is appearing in the play. Gwen played my wife during my brief stint in Coronation Street couple of years ago and then went on to murder our son. She must be in her mid-70s now, but you wouldn't know it from watching her on a Saturday afternoon matinee in a demanding role which requires her to be storyteller, nurse, and  an exuberant kite flying 5-year-old, all of which she  executes with style and class.

It's a real honour to play some part in the beginning of two such promising careers. I am sure that both Elliott and Adam know they can pick up the phone or drop me an email whenever they need a friendly, biased, bigoted, and shortsighted opinion - something I specialise in. After all they're both clever enough to make up their own minds.

In an age where lots of young actors have to give up their dream profession within 10 years of starting out,  longevity  in one's career is something to be sought after. I hope both these boys are still acting at my age, and hopefully by then they will found someone to pass their considerable experience and knowledge onto.