Richard Wilson has paid homage to One Foot in the Grave, admitting that he was "extremely lucky" to take on the role of Victor Meldrew.

The cult comedy, which followed grumpy Victor's many mishaps and unfortunate encounters, ran between 1990 and 2000 on the BBC, drawing a peak of 20 million viewers at the height of its popularity.

Speaking ahead of the release of a new book about the show, Wilson, 84, told The Mirror: "One Foot opened everything up for me. Doing something that cultish means there is a price to pay, of course, in as much as sometimes people find it difficult to cast you.

"Yes, it closed a few doors as well as opening them, but I feel extremely lucky to have played a character as popular as Victor.

"It doesn't worry me that people remember me for Victor – it was a fantastic role. It's mainly taxi drivers recognising me. But whenever anyone shouts out the phrase, I normally smile and wave.

"The only time I would worry is when a group of drunks started shouting. I'd move on quickly because you didn't know where it would end up. Fortunately, that doesn't happen very often."

The series ended on a sinister note as Meldrew was killed off in a hit-and-run accident.