Anthony Head

Anthony Head first found fame in the 1980s as the leading man in the long-running Gold Blend adverts. He’s arguably best known, though, for playing Giles in seven series of hit TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer and also appeared as the prime minister in Little Britain. Head will be presenting a trophy at the Cats Protection Rescue Cat of the Year Awards tonight.

What tales of feline heroism will you be rewarding?

There’s one cat who somehow stopped a burglary but that isn’t in my category. The award I’m giving is for cats who have helped their owners deal with illness. It’s therapeutic to have a pet in times of illness or stress and it’s been shown that stroking a cat reduces your blood pressure. It’s part of a campaign to encourage people to adopt rescue cats. The stray and wild cat population has exploded over the past 12 years and Cats Protection is overwhelmed trying to find homes for them.

Are you a cat or dog person?

Dogs are all about unconditional love, whereas cats are more intuitive. We’ve got two dogs, two cats, 12 rabbits and eight horses because my partner Sarah’s work revolves around animals.

You appeared at Children’s Party At The Palace last week. How was that?

It was the most amazing gig I’ve ever had. Hanging around backstage at Buckingham Palace was extraordinary. I played Captain Hook. I played him about three years ago but back then I told everyone I wanted to make my Hook really evil - and the reviewers said it was the campest thing they’d ever seen. I made the mistake of drawing on my experience of playing Frank N Furter in Rocky Horror, which didn’t really fit in with Peter Pan.

You’re in a forthcoming Woody Allen film. What was he like?

Well, pretty much the entire English acting fraternity make a cameo appearance in that film so I’m not in it a great deal. I did a scene with Hugh Jackman, who is absolutely lovely. I didn’t say much to Woody. Someone warned me not to shake his hand - I don’t know why, so I didn’t. I decided it would just be best to nod at him.

Do you enjoy being molested by David Walliams in Little Britain?

I can think of worse people to be molested by. He’s a very, very nice man. It’s great fun. They’re not changed by their success - Matt [Lucas] still comes on to the set with his digital camera for smiley group pictures. I did a couple of shows with them for the live DVD. It was the first time I’d played in front of 11,000 people in an arena - it was incredible walking out on to the stage but people seemed pleased to see me.

I can think of worse people to be molested by than David Walliams - he’s a very nice man

What do you get recognised most for?

I get the occasional Gold Blend remark but that’s a generational thing. Buffy is still huge, though. People often tell me how formative the series was for them when they were growing up. The other day, a BBC executive told me I was part of one of the best TV series of the past 15 years. I have to say I agree. Little Britain’s also had a huge impact on the public consciousness. I’ve been very lucky.

You were in the recent series of Dr Who - would you do another regular cult series after Buffy?

Yeah, sure. I love science fiction. When it’s good, it has great potential to break down barriers. When they first asked me about Dr Who, I wasn’t sure but the script was really good. The character was wonderfully villainous [Mr Finch in the episode School Reunion] and such fun to play. It was very nerve-racking, I didn’t know if it was going to work or not but, when I watched it back, I was extremely relieved. You never know how it’s going to turn out sometimes. There was something I did recently where I thought the scenes were working but didn’t come out the way I thought they would.

What was that?

Oh, I’m not saying.

Do you have an inkling something will turn out to be a turkey while you’re working on it?

Sometimes - but, usually, because everyone is so committed to it, you get caught up in the making of it. Things can happen in post-production and editing. Things don’t quite come out the way they were conceived.

What were the highlights of being in Buffy?

I loved doing it, the crew were adorable and Joss Whedon was a wonderful boss and there were some stunning scripts. If I moaned that I was feeling a bit spare, Joss would turn it into my character Giles feeling the same and having a mid-life crisis. But I was very far away from my family for seven years. It was very hard but we made it work. My partner Sarah was remarkable - she suggested the whole thing in the first place and was prepared to be a single parent. So I’ll be very grateful to her forever.

What’s the wackiest thing a fan has given you?

I get inundated with chewing gum. I was at a Buffy convention meeting and greeting people and I just happened to ask someone if anyone had some chewing gum. Ever since then, I’ve been getting sent loads of the stuff. It’s done with the nicest of intentions, though. www.cats.org.uk

How did you become involved with the cat awards?

My partner Sarah does a lot of work at animal shelters and with Cats Protection about how to deal with animals. We often assume animals are being disobedient when we want them to do something and they don’t do it. When they’re hissing, we assume they’re being bad tempered but often it’s just because they find what we’re asking them to do physically difficult. An awful lot of domestic cats are involved in road traffic accidents. They get bumped by a car and get skeletal or muscle tissue damage that isn’t immediately obvious. You’ll suddenly find that a previously social animal doesn’t want to be stroked and that might be because they find it painful. Cats Protection asked us if we’d become involved in the awards because of Sarah’s work with supposedly ‘difficult’ animals. It’s a way of congratulating owners of cats that have been rescued on the work that they’ve done.