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Bob And Rose is set in Manchester - what was it like shifting base from London?

I was alright with Manchester, really. It's just... Well, when you don't know anyone and you're on your own, it's grim wherever you are. And if you're a Londoner, and known for being a Londoner, then people aren't friendly. They just aren't. All this 'The North is friendly' stuff? Bollocks is it. I'm sorry, but I've encountered Northerners with whole bags of chips on their shoulder.

Do tell...

Oh, back in London there was a Preston girl I ended up talking to. 'I don't like London', she said, 'Not many good shops are there? And there's nowhere to eat. And it hasn't really got a High Street, has it?' And then she said 'Ooh, there is one good place, now what was it called? Ooh we had a great time there... TGIFriday, now that was brilliant.' And I just thought 'You poor cow. Go home. Have a bad view of London, cos you've done a 500 mile round trip just to confirm that.' Sorry, but they come to London, get to Picadilly Circus, urinate on Eros and then go home.

Some actors would steer clear of playing a gay character - what attracted you to the role?

It just felt good - great scripts, and the production company had an excellent track record. I mean, I know people will probably slap a "Gay drama" label on Bob And Rose, but I really hope they don't. People might think 'Oh that's gay, it's not for me'. Just because there's a gay lead in it doesn't mean it's the property of the gay community.

Are you getting the hang of straight acting, so to speak?

It's still difficult for me - I'm more confident with comedy, it being my background. With acting, I find that providing you're not trying to act, you're alright. You just speak it, and the less effort you put in, the better, I find. 'If in doubt, do nothing', that's my motto for acting.

Everyone's talking about how brilliant Jessica Stevenson (Holly) is in the show.

It's true. Jessica's a genius, but she won't have it. She'll keep telling you how good other actresses are. Like all hugely talented people she's not greatly driven. I can't speak highly enough of her. But she does have a terrible habit of rabbitting right up until action [chuckles].

Is it too early to say if there'll be a sequel?

There won't be. Russell was very clear that it ended at episode six. Which is why I'm doing quite this interview, actually. Because if you don't get in at episode one, it might pass you by, and I just thought if people don't watch this, I'm just going to be so pissed off. It's kind of on me to do press and generate interest.

Which is something you don't really like doing.

No.

Why not? Been bitten before?

Oh fuck, yes. And at both ends of the market. There was a gossip columnist at The Daily Star who came up to me at the High Fidelity premiere. I was just having a nice time, talking about football with Angus Deayton and Nick Hornby. And there's this sleazy reptile sliding all over the place trying to provoke people, came up and tried to convince me that we'd met before, I told him 'Sorry mate, I don't know who you are'. Which he wrote up as 'Do you know who the fuck I am?' Which pretty much translates as 'Showbiz Prat Alan Davies' - what's the point in that?

What about the other end?

Oh, there was a piece in the Times written by Caitlin Moran, who's now forever known as Catty Moron in my book. I've never met her, but there she is, going on about how I have loads of leggy girlfriends, how I make this amount of money every year and so on. And I thought, well, I don't even have a girlfriend at the moment, I only had one at the time, and the money figures mentioned were all wrong, and this whole piece was just full of assumptions. Spiteful, horrible, unpleasant... she took this kind of aloof tone, although as though it was beneath her to write about me. I just thought, you know, why bother? You got this wrong, that wrong, why not just phone me up and ask me?

Links:

• Heat - http://www.emapmagazines.co.uk/