A review of the Croft and Perry Interview with Andrew Barclay posted July 2021
Andrew Barclay will be known to fans of Grace and Favour as Malcolm Heathcliff, the jealous ex-boyfriend of Mavis Moultered, the farmer’s daughter. Although he appeared in only three episodes, he nevertheless made quite an impact. A suitably imposing figure (apparently 6 ft 2in), towering over a dithering Mr Humphries, he was the ideal choice for the role.
It’s interesting, then, to hear him in this Podcast (episode 68 no less) sounding very different from the character he played. Unlike the intimidating Malcolm, he’s friendly and softly spoken, here talking enthusiastically about how he got the part, the rehearsals, and working with the rest of the cast. He struck up a particular friendship with Frank Thornton and had some amusing encounters with John Inman who he also greatly admired. He even makes a confession; when asked if he could play cricket he lied and muddled through the cricket match much to the annoyance of the writers.
Until I heard Andrew’s interview, I knew very little of the man but this was enlightening. While his main claim to fame is appearing in Grace and Favour, he has proved to be something of an all-rounder as an actor, writer, producer, with credits including The Brittas Empire, among others. These days, he runs a Film Production course at the University of Hertfordshire, while still occasionally getting involved in tv work. This is an absorbing twenty minutes of reminiscences and fascinating insight from someone who now passes on his skills and knowledge to a younger generation of budding actors.
One small point: Andrew says that as far as he is aware, they never made a DVD of Grace and Favour but fortunately for fans of the series they did eventually and you can buy one on Amazon. In the US it’s entitled Are You Being Served? Again!
You can listen to the interview here: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/thecroftperrypodcast/episodes/2021-07-10T11_25_04-07_00
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