Jonathan Kydd

London-born Jonathan, 66, is best known for playing Tom in long-running children’s TV series Pipkins. He has also voiced Paddington Bear and Big Ears and was Ray-gon in Toy Story That

Time Forgot

What was your first TV memory?

Supercar, with Mike Mercury as the puppet pilot. It was an early Gerry Anderson production. I was well into it and sent off for a Mike Mercury wallet to be a member of the supercar club.

Who was your first TV crush?

Linda Thorson in The Avengers. Diana Rigg was too know-it-all for me. Linda had curves in all the right places. I also liked Babs in Pan’s People. And Dee Dee. And Cherry… all of

them, in fact.

What was your first TV appearance?

On Pipkins, the classic TV puppet show with Hartley, the camp hare everyone loved to hate. Some children had nightmares. All the other puppets were kept in plastic bags on hangers, Hartley was thrown into the corner. I was Tom the human who spoke to the puppeteers’ hands.

What is your favourite current show?

Picard series two on Amazon. I’m a big fan of Jeri Ryan as Seven Of Nine. And Succession. Kieran Culkin as Roman is brilliant. Worth watching for his performance alone; and Sarah Snook as Shiv…brilliant…can’t wait for series four.

Which TV show would you take to a desert island?

Star Trek: Voyager. I’m a sci-fi buff. I once went on a rainy holiday with a girlfriend and watched all of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Then we split up...

What TV show would you like to put out of its misery?

I’d give Naked Attraction a biff in the privates…

Guiltiest TV pleasure?

Mr Bean cartoons! I love ’em, especially as I’m playing a large number of the characters Mr Bean encounters along the way. And any football. I do a football podcast called the Chelsea Fancast so have to be up to speed.

What are you up to at the moment?

I edited my father Sam Kydd’s memoirs in lockdown. The first volume covers the first five years of his career, from 1945 to 1952, when he was in 119 films. And I’m about to voice Shark Week for Nat Geo.

Sam Kydd’s memoir, Be A Good Boy Sam, edited by Jonathan Kydd is out now