SEPARATED AT BIRTH

Actor Mark Gatiss’s cameo as slippery courtier Stephen Gardiner (above left) was one of the delights of Wolf Hall. Now he is taking on an even more serpentine eminence grise.

‘I play Peter Mandelson in channel 4 drama the coalition,’ he tells me. ‘Kings and prime ministers have always needed these reptilian figures who are deeply distrusted but absolutely essential.’ Horror movie buff Gatiss says viewers of the film, screened next month, will find his portrayal of the former Business Secretary (above right) surprisingly sympathetic.

‘Despite his Prince of Darkness reputation, in person he is actually funny and flighty,’ he adds. ‘It’s like lifting Dracula’s cloak and finding someone having a laugh at us all underneath.’