Hello, I'm Krestey Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1991, and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My castaway this week is an actor.

Lovers of British situation comedy knew him a long time ago as a familiar supporting figure in programs like

It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Are You Being Served and Porridge.

Fans of Coronation Street may remember him as El Citana's nephew.

For the rest of us, however, he has only one part, that of the resourceful French

cafe owner Renee Artois in the long-running BBC series

Alo Alo, whose white apron and comic vowels have become national symbols.

He is Gordon Kay. It's almost a decade now, Gordon, of wearing the apron and the accent.

It must be difficult to imagine life without René, is it?

It is hard, yes. But one of the things that we have noticed or that I noticed early on, because I'm from Yorkshire, and in rehearsals, my own voice, I will say things like,

oh heck. And that has got into the script. Rennie actually says OEC because as in France or as in Yorkshire they don't pronounce

their H's.

Do you think you hide behind the apron and the accent a bit?

Does Gordon hide behind Renee?

Certainly does in terms of after dinnering.

The first time I made an after dinner speech

was in 1987.

I was asked by the grand order of water rats

to go and be a guest of honor on their table and then to propose the toast on

behalf of the guests not knowing what this meant and I said oh yes I'd love to go and

...