LESLIE Grantham has been enjoying his tour with Roy Hudd in Eric Chappell's play Theft, due to come to Malvern from June 11 to 16.

The actor, who came to fame as Eastenders villain Dirty Den, was affable and charming as he snatched a few minutes between shows in Edinburgh during the first week of the tour.

He is playing a wealthy, successful man, who returns home after a night out with his wife and a couple of friends to find his house has been burgled.

When Spriggs the local bobby (Roy Hudd) appears from nowhere, they assume they have found their bungling burglar - but all is not as it seems.

There follows a game of cat and mouse, involving five people, hidden safes, childhood rivalries and guilty secrets.

"It's a very funny, well structured piece and brilliant because every night there's a different reaction from the audience," said Mr Grantham.

Playwright Eric Chappell is the writer who created the award winning TV comedy Rising Damp, starring Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby.

"Remember how funny Rigsby was even though he could be cruel? Well this play is funny in the same way. I'm nice but I'm not nice. They tell me I'm a psychopath - the company is frightened of me on stage.

"And Spriggs is funny but he's not funny. Roy plays the character straight but it is funny for the audience," said Mr Grantham.

Since the days of Eastenders, he has appeared in many West End productions, pantomimes and television plays, including The Stretch, in which he was reunited with Anita Dobson, who played his wife Angie in the soap.

He would not be drawn on the similarities between the Dirty Den story and the recent shooting of Phil Mitchell in the Square.

"I didn't watch it when I was in it and I certainly don't watch it now. I'm more interested in football and late movies," he said.

He is also interested in wine, which has won him a regular wine-presenting slot on morning television and his own series on Carlton, Grantham's Grapes.

"I'm just an enthusiast. My wife is Australian and her family are prestigious Australian winemakers," he explained, adding that it was an interest he was happy to indulge during gaps between acting jobs.

"When I did this thing for Carlton I had a very nice 14 days in France, going round vineyards doing tastings. It was very hard work, you can understand," he said.

He is looking forward to coming to Malvern Theatres for the first time with the cast of Theft, which also includes Joanna Van Gyseghem, who plays his wife, with Peter Alexander and Sandra Payne as the other couple.

After Edinburgh, the show visits Peterborough, Brighton and Crawley before opening in Malvern on June 11. For tickets, call the box office: 01684 892277.