I was the first member of my family to cross into Pakistan and find his ancestral village.
Michael Bates was a very funny actor; he'd served in India, could speak Urdu, and had great comic timing.
I've always felt I had to prove myself, and now it has become second nature. When I first went to university, I took lodgings with a woman who said, 'What are the chances of you staining my pans?' I said, 'I don't think I understand the question...' and she said, 'When you cook your curries.'
I started working myself from about 14, really, so I wasn't a burden on my family. I did a paper round and a milk round. When I was 15 or 16, I worked in a supermarket on Saturdays stacking shelves, and then every summer I temped, right through university until my working days started.
I am officially a doctor, and believe it or not, I can save lives and tune certain instruments and can beat peasants with a stick.
There are occasions when I've had beef, but I generally tend to avoid it, as a nod towards my parents' culture.
