Jack Shepherd on his famous role as Wycliffe – and why it might have looked "terribly boring" to outsiders

This article was first published in July 1997 as part of RT's My Kind of Day series – it has been reproduced here in full following the sad news that actor Jack Shepherd has passed away, aged 85.

During filming, Jimmy Yuill [DI Doug Kersey] and I have been sharing this converted schoolhouse near Perranporth in Cornwall. The school's been carefully adapted and renovated and makes a nice gothic residence with lots of atmosphere. It still has the signs saying Infants, Juniors and Seniors, and even the old school bell. I dare say it would still ring, but I've never tried.

My day depends on whether or not there is an early schedule. If it's late, everything shifts forward a few hours and you find yourself eating meals at the oddest times, but if it's an early start I'll be up around 5am for a cup of tea. I'm on a yeast-free diet at the moment, so it's decaffeinated. As soon as I'm awake, I'll be learning my lines. If you play the lead in a long series like this one, there's a lot to learn. At the moment I'm about a week ahead, which is a comfort.

The driver picks me up from the house and takes me off for breakfast, which is around 7.30am if it's an early day and about 12 if it's a late one. I have it in the caravan – porridge, poached egg, whatever... I'm on soda bread at the moment because of the diet.

The routine is that I do costume in my caravan, the Winnebago, followed by make-up, which is simple and takes just ten minutes – enough to remove any blemishes. Then work starts. As anyone knows who's spent time around a film set, it requires a lot of patience. There's always a lot of waiting around and much repetition.

Lunch comes after about five hours. If I feel like privacy and have learning to do, I'll take it on my own. Otherwise we all queue up. There's a race to see who is first. The “sparks” always seem to win, followed by Jimmy and I pretty close together. Afterwards I'll have 20 minutes' kip, which isn't a problem if I've been up since five. And the act of learning lines can induce stupor. A short sleep is energising, but it's not a good idea to have a long sleep. Waking up after an hour or more is like climbing out of a swamp.

Of course filming in Cornwall is governed by the weather. We've had terrifying gales on the Lizard and snow on Bodmin Moor. In fact it's been minus 20 up there with the wind-chill factor and so cold it's hard to even speak. It can get terribly depressing, but the thing about Cornish weather is that it changes so fast and when the sun comes back, the mood changes with it and everyone cheers up.

If we do manage an early finish, Jimmy and I do a quick nine at Perranporth. Golf is a game for which I have hardly any talent, but I am obsessional about it.

Apart from the games with Jimmy, we have a four once a month with Brian Morgan, the director of photography, and Eddie Armstrong, the gaffer sparks. It's quite evenly matched, so a lot of £5 notes have passed back and forth!

If you run over and get in late, you only just have time for something to eat and maybe a quick gin and tonic. It's not much of a social life – playing the lead for eight episodes in four-and-a-half months can look terribly boring to outsiders. If I went on the tiles, my system simply wouldn't stand it.

Last week a friend of mine had an exhibition of paintings at St Agnes, and I managed to get over for that. My wife works in film production and is very busy, so she's only been down once. The children are all at university and they do manage to visit occasionally, which cheers everyone up. But basically working on Wycliffe is a marathon, and while it's going on there's very little time for anything else.

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