He struggled with fame

The ‘Causal Vacancy’ star - who was knighted in 1998 alongside Sir Elton John but never used the honorific - “fought against” being a celebrity by rarely giving interviews and when he did he liked to often make up tall tales.

Michael said: "I just hate the idea of being well known. I know that is almost impossible if you're an actor who has done okay, but I've always fought against it."