Please note that some of the additional information provided here by the journalist named below may not be accurate, so it should be treated with caution.
December 1971
Jason King and Me!
“I think of theatre and television as two mistresses, both delightful. It’s all rather like a love affair. The only time to worry is when one becomes a wife.”
Those words spoken with much elan was a declaration of feeling from Jason King alias Peter Wyngarde. It’s difficult to know where one ends and the other begins, so closely are they intertwined
For the record it was Peter Wyngarde, ex-Old Vic and Royal Shakespeare Company actor, I went to interview. We met at Elstree Studio on the set of Jason King, that extraordinarily successful television series which grew out of the popularity of the previous series, Department S. The character of Jason King so entranced the public that Peter now finds himself in a new series which expands the less explored aspects of Jason’s character. Such is the impact of Jason King that the series has already being sold worldwide. But since so much of himself has been sunk into the characterization of Jason King, when you talk to Peter Wyngarde you find there are twin souls merged from public consumption – a rather more appealing Frankenstein’s monster which might just haunt Peter Wyngarde for the rest of his life.
Like Jason, Peter Wyngarde is a connoisseur of the good things in life. The attitudes correspond much of the time, partly because Peter has moulded the fictional character largely on himself. He wears most of his own clothes in the series – and as trendy a wardrobe as Beau Brummell possessed I’d say.
How does Peter Wyngarde react to the sudden onslaught of aggressive female fan worship for instance, I had heard that some fans were sending him bras to autograph and return?
“It has its advantages,” he admitted. On the whole though, he has to confess that he likes it. “But it happened before,” Peter told me. “Very early on in my career and then again when I played Sidney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities.” But the character of Jason King has so completely captured the fascination of the public that any hero worship he may have had in the past pales by comparison.
“I think women need a fantasy lover figure and Jason King fits the bill,” said Peter. “It’s the unattainable idea, like Don Juan and Casanova. Probably if they met me they would be disappointed.”
He mused, “I hope though that they won’t forget that basically I am an actor. I hope they’ll let me do other roles.”
On the bras to autograph story? “At first I thought it was a joke and when I realised it wasn’t I was a bit unnerved by it. But now they send me panties as well. The trouble is they want me to send my underwear to them!”
Who falls for Jason King? “Well some are very young, some are just right and some are quite old,” Peter said
Does he share Jason King’s attitude to women?
“He has more choice,” Peter leered. Not that I’m complaining…”
I was asking Peter whether he found himself pursued by women when three young actresses, playing small parts in the series, happened to walk by with much sensual emphasis as they pass Peter. He smiled absently at me, his appreciative gaze following the three girls and said, “It’s usually the other way around!”
Peter was then called back on the set to shoot a scene where Jason King is discovered by three autograph hunters the (same three girls) while in his latest lady love’s apartment. Not wanting to be found there, he jumps out of the window and down a fire escape. As he came back to me he said that the scene brought back memories of a parallel situation which occurred recently in his own life. He was interrupted at a girlfriend’s flat by the sudden return of her husband and had to make a quick escape via the window, jump over a ledge and across a sheer drop into a flat in the opposite building. Whether Peter Wyngarde is living up to Jason King’s image or vice versa I didn’t ask.
What about marriage? Jason King is a confirmed bachelor. Is Peter Wyngarde contemplating giving up his divorced status? “I shall fight marriage tooth and nail,” he admonished fiercely. But in the end I know I’ll be one of those doomed people.You know, there are some people who will get caught and I am one of them.”
At the moment the only permanent fixture in his life is his dog, a large, highly pedigreed 2-year-old Afghan, Yousef, who rules the Wyngarde establishment with a rod of iron. Yousef has a pancreas condition which complicates Peter’s life considerably. “But it’s worth it. I love him, even though he is like a sick child and has to have a special diet and endless care.” Peter runs two homes – a cottage in Elstree and a flat in London. “Not that I see much of either when I’m working. I think I live quite simply, but people say I’m extravagant. I like having nice things around me.”
But the grind of sheer physical effort involved in a series like Jason King makes Peter relish the thought of a holiday. “I want to lie on a beach and do absolutely nothing and have people make a great fuss of me.” He says it takes a good six weeks to unwind mentally from the stresses and strains, but knowing his absorption and delight in hard work, when the unwinding phase is over it’ll be back in harness again. He hopes to make a film with Jason King as the central character. “I think he deserves a film.” And he wants to get back to the theatre. “That’s were the root are.”
Peter’s involvement in Jason King go so far as changing the script when he thinks something isn’t credible. The area of most dissent is, he says, in the realms of Jason’s love life. “It’s all on such a superficial level. I don’t believe in ever talking down to anybody. I think that even if you don’t understand the words you will understand the feeling. And the best dialogue, really, happens spontaneously, in real life. There’s so much you can’t show in television love scenes. So often in television there’s not enough concentration on the visual, which is after all, what it’s all about.”
The permissive screen is something Peter heartily approves.
He cares about Jason King. In fact, Peter Wyngarde cares about work. “When I’m not working I get very neurotic and nervy. Work really matters to me. Without it, well there’s nothing.”
On that maxim alone Peter Wyngarde will always have something.
Interview by By Susan d’Arcy
PETER WYNGARDE: The Official Website 
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