: Calling Time; Graham Keal talks to Geoffrey Palmer, who plays the emotionally-repressed Englishman, and finds a man with a soft centre.

GEOFFREY Palmer has been Britishcomedy's standard bearer of stiff upper lippery and coolly ironic detachment for so long that it's rather extraordinary to hear him describing intensely emotional scenes, especially when they're happening in real life and not in a script.

But, as the final curtain falls on comedy hit As Time Goes By, Geoffrey admitted that, after nine series in 10 years, filming the final scenes with Dame Judi Dench and the rest of the company really got to him.

``The last few days have been quite extraordinarily emotional for all of us,'' says Geoffrey. ``Sydney Lotterby, the producer, is immensely painstaking and just creates the most lovely working atmosphere, so pretty much the whole crew, all the different departments, have been with us from the start.

``We've had the same make-up team, the same set designer, the same super costume designer.

``They're all buddies. And what does make it emotional is that I know I will keep in touch with Judi and we'll go to see Jenny Funnell (who plays secretary Sandy) and her husband from time to time, but you know you may never see the others again.

``Saying goodbye after you've had an intense, close, chummy working relationship is very emotional.''

The wrap party, when cast and crew celebrated (and mourned) the end of the series, was moving too, says Geoffrey.

``They had `As Time Goes By - Bye Bye' up in lights and everyone who had ever been in it came along. There was a lot of laughter and quite a few tears. I left before most ofthem were flowing because I had a job to get to next day, sadly.''

His genuine warmth towards Judi Dench is palpable and he credits her with being both immensely talented (don't we all?) and immensely caring, taking anyone under her wing if she detects that something is troubling them.

``There isn't a bad word to say about her, which makes her sound boring - but she ain't.''

The main reason for the two-year gap between the eighth series of As Time Goes By and this last one was Judi's flourishing film career, so has hobnobbing with Hollywood stars changed her?

``No, not at all really. She probably drops more film star names now but only because she has got American buddies.

``If she's in the theatre, a lot more Americans will come to see her, and she goes over for the Oscars pretty well every year now, but I don't think she has changed, ever.''

As for Geoffrey, he is more emotional than most of his roles would suggest, from the drily ironic dad in Butterflies to the clipped military incompetent in Reggie Perrin (he played Reggie's hapless brother-in-law Jimmy), or the grouchy granddad in The Savages, not to mention laconic Lionel in AsTime Goes By. ``Whether it's my nature or whether it's that bit of my personality that I use a lot in parts, I don't know. I think a string of parts has come up which show that bit up but, in my defence, I'd say I'm not necessarily like that.''

He once admitted to having been in floods of tears when grandson Billy, who will be three in October, was born, though the reserve seems to be back in place now.

``We've got another one now, born in April. He's Tom. He's very small,'' says Geoffrey. ``I'm looking forward to seeing them in a day or two.''

Both grandsons belong to Geoffrey's son Charles, who's a film cameraman. Geoffrey and wife Sally have been happily married for 39 years and also have a grown-up daughter, Harriet, who is a teacher.

At 74, Geoffrey loves to spend time with the family or indulging his passion for fishing, and although he is sad to say goodbye to the demands of leading a popular sitcom, he is a bit relieved too. ``I'm getting older. I find it quite stressful trying to play comedy in front of a studio audience. It's so much easier on stage when you've found out where the laughs are buried. You think `Oh that's where the laugh comes. Terrific. I know how to phrase that tomorrow night'.

``But, on television, the lines have never been said before. You've only got one bite at the cherry and then the thing is on tape for posterity.

``Your judgement is crucial, you're on a knife edge - and, OK, it's fun and there's a lot of adrenaline - but it is quite stressful.''

Yet Geoffrey's taste in comedy scripts seems as impeccable as his comic timing. Butterflies, Carla Lane's masterpiece, ran for four series, Reggie Perrin lasted three, with spin-off series Fairly Secret Army extending the life of Geoffrey's military misfit over two more series.

He has appeared in Fawlty Towers, Hot Metal, Blackadder Goes Forth, Whoops Apocalypse, made many films (including Mrs Brown, with Judi Dench) and done countless radio plays and comedies, including current Radio 4 oddity At Home with the Snails.

Not a bad track record for a man who ``drifted into acting'' having been demobbed from the Royal Marines in 1947 after his two years' National Service.

First he spent a turgid year in the offices of a pharmaceuticals company, trying to sell drugs and food products. ``I couldn't sell a bloody thing. I didn't believe in the product - I was totally inadequate...

``I had no idea what to do but I had a girlfriend who was involved in local amateur dramatics. I fancied her so I joined that. I'd done a couple of plays at school but I never thought I'd do it for a living.''

When life at the drugs company was becoming unbearable, he bumped into an old schoolfriend whose cousin was an actor and who was lodging with his family.

The actor persuaded him to write off to theatres to get work - but all he could find was an unpaid post as an assistant stage manager.

``Luckily I was still living with my parents, so they supported me. Then after three months the theatre gave me pounds 3 a week. It wasn't exactly a living wage but I got by.''

Now Geoffrey is sufficiently comfortable to work only when he wants to. ``I go fishing for salmon and trout, which is why it's difficult to persuade me to work between May and the end of November, really.''

Much more relaxing than facing the studio audience for As Time Goes By.

But at least there's a nostalgic, stress-free postscript to the series. Geoffrey and Judi will star in a one-hour, American style special, looking back on past times as a link between clips from previous shows.

And when the cameras stop rolling, you can bet that even Geoffrey's stiff upper lip will quiver.

July 20, 2002

CAPTION(S):

GOOD TIMES:; Geoffrey with his fellow actors who make up the longrunning series As Time Goes By including Dame Judi Dench whom he says: ``There isn't a bad word to say about her, which makes her sound boring - but she ain't.''; STIFF UPPER LIP: actor; Geoffrey Palmer became quite emotional when the final scenes were being filmed for the hit TV series As Time Goes By knowing that he wouldn't be seeing many of the crew again