Robert Lindsay (HH1)

Robert Lindsay was far from impressed by his first encounter with the classic tales of Midshipman Hornblower, according to his school reports.

"After I'd got this job, my mother rang me to tell me she'd found an old GCSE paper of mine based on Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. Apparently I'd written that 'due to my lack of nautical knowledge I found this book dull and uninteresting.'"

However Lindsay's views quickly changed after reading the Hornblower stories again, and he became particularly interested in the character he plays, Captain Pellew.

"I found out a lot about him. He was a real person, who started life as midshipman and rose through the ranks to become a vice-admiral, and was much admired.

"He was also a brilliant interior designer. His cabin was the envy of the fleet and he really didn't spare any expense. Apparently he never went to land. He just stayed on the ship and was at sea for years on end.

"He was a tough captain, but he would never give an order that he wouldn't fulfill himself, so if he saw a young rating who couldn't do something he'd often go aloft and do it himself.

"Apparently on one occasion a lot of the crew were going swimming, and he pushed a kid in and then discovered he couldn't swim, so Pellew went in after him in his full uniform."

In C. S. Forester's stories, Captain Pellew is portrayed as a father figure to the young Hornblower.

"He treats Hornblower as a son and that's very important to the piece on a human level. He's aggressive with him, and sometimes abrasive, but he's also extremely fond of him, and can see he's going places."

"In one scene Hornblower is going off to fight, and Pellew freaks out that this boy is going. He can't disguise his anxiety, because he really does see him as the son he doesn't have."

Robert was fitted with hair extensions to create the appropriate look for the character and period, which caused some problems, both on and off set.

He explains: "People in Yalta find it a bit strange that men have pigtails," says Robert, flicking the luxuriant locks that would have taken him six years to grow had they been real.

"When four of us went out to eat in town when we first arrived, we realized the police were taking an interest. Sure enough, they later stopped us, got into our car, and tried to arrest us."

Back in England, Lindsay's daughter Sydney did just the opposite. "She took one look at my hair and refused to get into the car with me."

The hair extensions, painstakingly woven into the actor's real hair, remained in place throughout filming. But at one point Lindsay's were nearly blown into the Black Sea. In the scene Captain Pellew is standing on the poop deck of the Indy, reeling from the blast as the powder room of a nearby ship is blown to bits.

As Lindsay composed himself for one of the most serious scenes of the whole series, the blast sent his hat flying straight to the other end of the ship. A short, stunned silence followed, and the entire crew burst out laughing. The script required Lindsay to look horrified and distraught. All he could do was giggle. It took three takes before the scene was in the can.

Born in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, five miles from the birthplace of D.H. Lawrence, Lindsay trained to be a drama teacher. But encouraged by friends at Nottingham Playhouse where he was a part-time assistant stage manager, he won a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. By the age of twenty-seven, his performance as the Tooting revolutionary Wolfie in Citizen Smith had made him a star.

Now one of Britain's most sought-after actors, Lindsay also starred as ruthless council leader Michael Murray in GBH with Julie Walters. He teamed up again with Walters in Jake's Progress and Brazen Hussies. On stage he won wide critical acclaim and the Laurence Olivier Award for outstanding actor in a musical for Me and My Girl. He became an overnight star on Broadway with the show, and won the Fred Astaire Award for the best dancer on Broadway. He's also had lead roles in Godspell and Cyrano de Bergerac.