Sir Ian McKellen - I was intimidated by Bristol's theatres

Sir Ian McKellen is appearing alongside John Bishop at the Bristol Hippodrome

Sir Ian McKellen has revealed he has "always been rather frightened" of performing in Bristol as he prepares for a performance at the Hippodrome.

The veteran actor is appearing in Mother Goose alongside comedian John Bishop until Sunday.

Ahead of the first night, he revealed he was too intimidated by the reputation of Bristol's theatres to apply for a job when he started out.

"I thought it was way beyond me," he said.

Speaking to BBC West, the Lord of the Rings and X-Men star admitted he had only played a Bristol venue once in his career.

"I did finally for my one-man show for my 80th birthday come to the rejuvenated Old Vic, but otherwise no," he said.

"I think I have always been rather frightened of Bristol - I know lots of people who have [performed] here."

'Bristol was top choice'

He continued: "When I left university and was wondering where to work, Bristol was the number one place."

Getting a job at Bristol Old Vic was particularly coveted among actors of his generation, he said.

"Its reputation was very strong and I think the productions ran for four weeks.

"Most other companies like that ran for two weeks, so you only got two weeks to rehearse, so Bristol productions were always thought to be the best."

He added: "I don't think I even applied to Bristol, I think I thought it was way beyond me and I went to Coventry instead."

The production of Mother Goose is running at the theatre until Sunday

Discussing Mother Goose, Sir Ian said he felt a big responsibility to the children in the audience.

"Maybe this is the first theatre they ever see, so there is a big responsibility to make sure they are having a good time," he said.

"Something to look at, something to shout about, something to sing along with, something to laugh about."

He continued: "The star of any pantomime is not the people on stage, but the people in the audience. The audience is the star.

"It is for their benefit that this happens - if they don't cheer, if they don't boo, if they don't sing then you haven't done your job properly."

Asked whether he would attempt any Bristol slang or the accent, he replied: "That would be rude I think to come and attempt a local accent. I will be using my own northern accent."