How are you?

“I’m in rehearsal in London and there’s snow again.

There’s no trains and everyone seems to be pulling together again like the old days.

Which brings me on to Journey’s End!…

Yes. Sum up the play for anyone who isn’t aware of it?

“It’s about the terrible stories and the friendships among soldiers in the First World War and how they survive in these situations.

It’s really about the bonds which tie people together during adverse times.

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

When things are really bad, the English spirit comes through.

It’s an absolute joy to do.

I’ve known it and wanted to do it since I was a schoolboy and I’m now approaching 60."

Tell me about the character you play.

“I’m Osborne, a bit older than the boys and a sort of fatherly figure.

”

Do you feel the play has a resonance today?

“Oh, most certainly because you’ve got these boys of 17 and 18 killed and coming back from Afghanistan every day.

So the futility of war and the subject has not changed much in all that time since Sheriff wrote it in 1927.

It’s so resonant now.

We see these awful scenes, but in those days the caskets didn’t even come back because of the sheer scale of it.

I think it was something like 30,000 killed in one battle in the First World War."

Does history fascinate you?

“Absolutely.

It’s one of the reasons I became an actor.

When you’re 17 dressing up and carrying a sword seems a good thing to do for a living! Over my career I’ve been in a lot of plays set in the 1920s and even some set in the 1890s.

I think it suits my voice well."

You’re playing four local venues.

Have you played any of them before?

“I’ve been to them all except the Kings in Southsea and I’m very glad to see they are all still functioning.

I very much like the intimate theatre Royal Winchester and I’m looking forward to seeing the Kings as I believe it’s a lovely historic theatre.

I’ve been around a long time, so I’ve been at most theatres! And I feel very lucky to be doing this particular play there – it’s the one that first made Laurence Olivier famous you know."

Theatre, TV, radio or film?

“Variety is the essence of life.

I’ve done The Archers for 30 years and I suppose that’s what I will be remembered for rather than for my stage and TV work.

But they don’t seem to want me on the programme at the moment and don’t seem to have much for Nigel to do in The Archers."

How do die-hard Archers fans react to you?

“Oh I get mobbed in supermarkets! They don’t recognise me, but as soon as I speak to try to steer my trolley around someone they say you’re Nigel! It’s very funny and The Archers has been very good to me.

I feel very privileged to have been a part of it and I’m sure it led to a lot of my TV roles like Midsomer Murders."

What’s next for you?

“I have a film coming out with Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint and Rupert Everett.

It’s called Wild Target and is a comedy.

”

Graham appears in Journey’s End, which plays The Haymarket in Basingstoke from Tuesday to Sunday, Lighthouse Poole from February 2 to 6, Kings Theatre, Southsea from March 1 to 3 and Theatre Royal Winchester on March 30 and 31.