PETER IN HIS OWN WORDS

1950s

1960s

1970s

“Me a sex symbol? God help us! Most of us have sex appeal, but probably mine is a little more blatant, more visual. I don’t see myself as anything particular.” 1973

“I’m the sort of actor who become the part he plays. When the part of Jason was written originally, he was quiet, donnish sort of chap. I knew then that if I played him like that that I would come home after playing the part all day, and I’d end up feeling about seventy. So Jason ended up being much more like me.” 1972

“I get some remarkable fan letters. I’ve had requests from girls which read: “When you shave tomorrow, please clip the ends off your moustache and send them to me in the enclosed envelope.” 1972

“I was told yesterday that my window cleaner had started dressing up to look like I do on TV. The girls apparently liked it. He became a bit of a raver… his wife divorced him and blamed me.” 1972

“I used to be very intolerant if things didn’t go may way. I sulked or made an awful lot of noise. Now I am much more inclined to see others points of view. Acting has done that for me. It has helped me to learn more about people and life.” 1973

“I desperately want children of my own, but I can’t bear the thought of getting married again. I know that nowadays a wedding ring has become unfashionable, and although I’ll swing along with the best of the Seventies crowd, when it comes to being a father, I’m positively Victorian.” 1973

“Women cannot bear not to be wanted. You look a girl up and down, appraise her figure, legs – the lot – and then turn back to your drink or whatever you’re doing, and a couple of seconds later, she’s there beside you.” 1973

“A man can love a woman without thinking about her every waking moment. He still has time for the football match, or a game of darts at the pub, or a drink with the boys. And that’s something women just don’t understand.” 1973

“There was one girl in Australia that I met last year who came very close to making me think that waking up next to her every morning for the rest of my life would be the most wonderful thing in the world.” 1973

“I don’t feel as if I belong to any strata of society. I never did. I can be at home with anyone, whether it’s at an ambassadorial dinner party, or with a gang of building labourers. Mind you, people say I try to hard to be one of the boys.” 1973

“I’m a very solitary person. Although I’m not self-sufficient. I like to be on my own. I ruminate a lot. Maybe I’m frightened of getting too close to people. I don’t want to get hurt, and I don’t want to hurt other people.” 1974

“I adore flying. I’m trying to improve my tennis and my passion is sex. I think I’ll change that to sophisticated sex.” 1974

“Clothes are very important to me. I see things mostly in shapes. I draw a shape. I see characters in shapes and before I know it, I’m designing clothes.” 1975

1980s

1990s

“I’ve never worn a medallion outside my shirt, except for one character who goes to a disco. Of course, they accused me of being a “Medallion Man”, which I never was.” 1994

“All the problems of the world are caused because people don’t laugh. I’d love my album to be heard all over the place. It’s totally fun..” 1996

“If you’ve got humour in yourself, you’ve got to bring it out. That was the lovely thing about playing Jason because he was a romantic extension – and I emphasise the word ‘extension – of yourself.” 1996

“I got on marvellously with Joel Fabiani and we became great mates, but I didn’t his it of with ‘Knickers’ [Rosemary Nicolls] as I called her, because she decided that she was going to be this great star and actors don’t like that.” 1996

“The real danger that happens to a lot of actors – and it happened to me towards the end – is that you get so embroiled with the character that you think nobody else can write for him, which is probably 75% true. But then suddenly you find you’re only going in one direction.” 1997

“I was a terrible, outrageous little show-off. A precocious, hideous little child.” 1998

“I never watch myself on TV. In fact it’s only recently that I’ve been watching any of the ‘Jason King’ episodes, because I used to have to watch rushes every day on that show, and that was enough to put me off watching myself for the rest of my life!” 1998

2000’s

“On Department S I wasn’t that close to Rosemary really, but she was alright. I suppose Joel was charming. We really had a good relationship both on screen and off. He was quite a good mate.” 2000

“I loved every minute of being in The Avengers. It was obviously very kinky and it was meant to be. Since the Cathy Gale days, there was always this slightly camp and kinky side to the Avengers. Before (‘A Touch Of Brimstone’) I had this reputation of being a bit of a sadist, quite unfounded of course. After that episode I was in great demand. Off screen too!” 2000

“I’m a jeans and T-shirt man now. On ‘Jason King’ I had to change suits about a dozen times a day so after that I was in no hurry to wear a suit again.” 2003

2010s

“I think that the popularity of Jason King got way out of proportion. It got to the point where I couldn’t walk through any capital city in Europe without being mobbed. It was like The Beatles. For instance, in Norway or Denmark – I can;’t remember which one, I was give the Royal Suite, which I thought was ridiculous. I mean, why? Just because I’m an actor playing a part should I be given such an honour? I didn’t like it at all. I remember going out onto the balcony and looking down and there was all these people, which is why I’m convinced any actor could become President of his country for the same reason.” 2017

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The Hellfire Club: The OFFICIAL PETER WYNGARDE Appreciation Society: https://www.facebook.com/groups/813997125389790/