You were in Last of the Summer Wine for a staggering 20 years...

Well obviously it's a wonderful thing, as an actor, to have such a steady job for so long. After all, the world of acting is so notoriously unsteady, and to have a consistent place on a major TV series – a British institution – for two decades is a wonderful thing.

That said, I do wonder if it's typecast me as a comedy performer, and I can't help but wonder if it's affected the sorts of roles I've been offered over the years. I'd love to have done more serious parts, for example.

What sort of serious roles did you have in mind?

Well I started out in rep theatre in Oldham, and it was one of the busiest, most frantic and most fun times of my life. The nature of the job meant that I played all sorts of different roles in quick succession – so in one show I'd be the star, and in another I'd be an extra. And believe it or not, I moved onto serious, rather than comedy, shows.

So I played Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf – a role made famous by Elizabeth Taylor in the movie version. That's something that would be amazing to play again. And one of my great ambitions has been to play Queen Margaret in Henry VI, ever since I saw Peggy Ashcroft in the role ages ago.

What led to you getting chosen to play Marina in Summer Wine?

It was a pure stroke of luck. I'd been quietly working away in different projects when I heard on the grapevine that a director I'd worked with back in the 70s had fallen ill. I thought I'd just send him a Get Well Soon card, and the very day he got the card someone rang him and asked if he had any suggestions for someone to play a blonde in the stage version of Last of the Summer Wine.

The director, having received my card, remembered my work and basically suggested to Summer Wine writer Roy Clarke that he take me on. It went so well on stage that Roy incorporated my character into the actual TV series in 1984.

Where is Last of the Summer Wine actually filmed?

It's made in a Yorkshire town called Holmfirth, which is such a beautiful, peaceful, delightfully archaic patch of unchanged England. The place has slowly transformed as a result of the show's success, to the point that the paint shop which was dressed up to look like Ivy's café actually became a café to please the tourists.

But you know, places like Doncaster and Rotherham were also considered as settings for the programme. What happened was, a chap was making a documentary about working men's clubs, and he'd gone to film a bit in a Holmfirth club. Later on, the same chap was chatting to one of the producers of the original Summer Wine Comedy Playhouse pilot, recommended Holmfirth as a good setting. Roy Clarke came to check it out for himself, and liked what he saw.

How do the locals cope with the filming that happens in their midst?

Well I'm sure there are some residents who get tired of the attention, and all the film crew people wandering around, but I have to say the reception is overwhelmingly positive. It's such a buzz when we film on the streets, and often the locals will give a big cheer when the stars turn up in their Summer Wine outfits. And, of course, there are always Summer Wine fans about, hoping to catch a glimpse of it being made. It's a wonderful thing to have been part of.