BAFTA-nominated actress Rosemary Leach is returning to Malvern after a gap of eight years.

"The audiences were so nice when I was in Malvern for The Old Ladies," said Rosemary, who said some modern theatre audiences were quite rude, often talking during performances.

Rosemary is appearing with Francis Matthews, well known to TV viewers for The Royal and Heartbeat, in The Kingfisher, as part of a UK tour.

"It's a lovely, low-key and funny play. I really hope people enjoy it," said Rosemary.

It is about a novelist (Matthews) who is delighted to hear that the husband of a woman he loved in his youth has now died.

The play charts the events that follow his attempts to re-kindle the romance after a gap of 50 years.

"I've been acting for 50 years and it's a long time. The play is about the expectations of youth and people misinterpreting their lives. It's about dodgy memories and there's a lot of wit and fun in it," said Rosemary.

Seventy-year-old Rosemary said touring and performing could be tiring but that she still loved the theatre, which is where her career began in 1955.

Her long career includes the film version of E M Forster's A Room With A View and That'll Be The Day. Television favourites include The Jewel in the Crown, The Charmer and Cider With Rosie and she'll never forget starring with Ronnie Corbett in the off-the-wall comedy, No That's Me Over There.

She has no intention of retiring and says she is very lucky to have spent her life doing what she enjoys.

The Kingfisher runs from Monday to Saturday, November 14-19, and tickets are £14-£22 from 01684 892277.