TV Times Star Story: 'Me and Hetty are great mates'

She's nearly 50 years his senior and the star of the show, but Dominic Monaghan isn't overawed by heis 'boss'

On screen Hetty Wainthropp, with her WI hat and bossy manner, seems an unlikely friend to Geoff Shawcross, her impressionable teenage sidekick. Yet away from the camera, too, this unlikely pair really are bosom buddies.

Dominic Monaghan, 18, who plays Geoff, regularly goes out for dinner with Patricia Routledge, who plays Hetty. 'The age gap gives us more to talk about,' explains Dominic (below and above with Patricia). 'Our tastes in music, film and theatre are really different so we have a lot to learn from each other.'

When Dominic initially appeared as Geoff in the first series it was all rather daunting. He'd been plucked from obscurity and it was the first time he'd been away from his parents in Stockport -- dad Austin's a teacher, and him mum Maureen's a nurse.

'Patricia mothered me a lot then,' explains Dominic. 'She gave me advice and was always there if I needed someone to talk to. I'd never had a friend of her age before, but I can highly recommend it.'

Dominic gave up his A-levels to take the part and he admits that he feels slightly envious of friends who went to university.

'I do feel a bit left out, but my girlfriend doesn't go until next year. However, I might feel a bit lost when she's gone,' he says.

But it's a small price to pay considering that work Dominic's getting. At the moment, he's in Germany acting alongside Martin Sheen and Rutger Hauer in a new BBC film called Hostile Waters, in which he plays a Russian soldier. 'It's fantastic,' enthuses Dominic. 'I've always wanted to star in movies.'

Dominic relaxes by listening to music on his CD player. 'It's the one thing I've bought out of my darings -- the rest I've saved, although I do spoil my mum occasionally,' he admits.

Sally Brockway