Endeavour star Roger Allam is delighted to be the good guy!

Roger’s endeavours paid off now he’s a good guy.

Endeavour star Roger Allam is thrilled to be a good guy after many years.

He reckons he’s played countless “smarmy cowards and villains” and says his baddie days go back to a star-studded Citizens Theatre appearance.

“I’ve got a lot of fond memories of Glasgow as that’s where I did my first panto,” Roger told The Sunday Post.

“I was the wicked Englishman, the Sheriff of Nottingham, which I decided was a chance to pay homage to Terry Thomas (the gap-toothed actor famous for playing cads).

“Robbie Coltrane was Little John and Gary Oldman was Daniel the dog! I had a wonderful time.”

The popular spin-off from Inspector Morse is back for four new episodes on ITV.

Roger is DI Fred Thursday, boss of a young Morse, once again played by Shaun Evans, back in the 1960s.

“I love Fred and the opportunity to play someone decent, something I haven’t done much in my career,” he explains.

“He’s much of my own family background.

“My dad, who was a vicar, came from that era.

“He was born into a poor family in Fulham, with 11 under the one roof.

“But by the time of the series he’d be about Thursday’s age and when I’m thinking about the character I think of him and my aunts and uncles.

“I also have hazy memories of what London was like at that time.”

Roger had clearer memories about at least one event in the new series, the 1966 World Cup Final.

“Fred and his family are sitting round watching it and I can remember exactly that picture, sitting cheering with my own family.”

Roger, who’s 60, has two young sons, William and Thomas, with actress wife Rebecca Saire.

“They’re 13 and eight now so they’re not that young any more, but it is wonderful being a dad,” admits Roger.

“When you leave it as long as I did I was in my mid-40s it’s a big shock.

“You get used to an awful lot in your life without children, where you don’t have to look after someone or be worried about things.

“It’s a huge learning curve that I’m still on and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Roger was a guest star in one of the original Inspector Morse episodes back in the 1990s.

“I knew John Thaw a bit and I knew his wife Sheila really well because we’d been at the Royal Shakespeare Company together,” adds Roger.

“She had been a very big influence on me.

“I think what’s interesting about Endeavour is seeing this detective, already an established favourite, back at the beginning.”