Although from the alternative generation he has always been a family entertainer in that he appeals to a wide age-range

Although from the alternative generation, he has always been a family entertainer in that he appeals to a wide age-range.”Henry’s full-on showbiz persona has only been enhanced by his high-profile hosting of Comic Relief nights over the years. That forum gives full rein to his most over-the-top, sometimes self-indulgent clowning But there is much more to him than that. Beyond the bloke-down-the-pub persona lies someone who is carefully deciding how to prolong his life in the business at a time when the appeal of being the all-singing, all-dancing entertainer has palled.His colleagues certainly seem to think the change of tack has worked for Henry. Nick Brown, the producer of Hope and Glory, says that “the first time you see Lenny in this he’s on stage, and people expect him to play to the crowd.

He has that natural charisma, but he worked a lot at reining that in. I love the idea that people will tune into this expecting to see a certain thing from Lenny and will actually see something completely different.”Things have not always gone so swimmingly for Henry He admits to experiencing frustration in the past. He jokes about prejudice – “I can’t believe I wasn’t cast as Mr Darcy, I didn’t even get a phone call” – but clearly there used to be anger bubbling beneath the humorous facade “I felt I had a lot to be angry about,” he says. “What I was angry about was how difficult it was to get any programming with any level of multi-ethnic casting – either in front of or behind the camera There were no black or Asian faces in the Bafta nominations. It’s the water against stone effect – it’ll happen eventually – but it would be great to see a more truthful reflection of society in my lifetime Coronation Street has only just got an Asian shopkeeper. Have you ever been up north? Lancashire is nothing but Asian shops.”But doesn’t his own great success disprove his argument? The fifth of seven children born to Jamaican immigrants in Dudley, he has not looked back since winning New Faces as a 16-year-old impressionist. He moved seamlessly from the ITV “zoo” children’s programme Tiswas to the BBC1 sketch-show Three of a Kind (with Tracey Ullman and David Copperfield), before landing his own BBC1 series The Lenny Henry Show and the BBC1 sitcom Chef!.Yet despite vehicles such as the BBC2 sketch-show The Real McCoy, which Henry helped to set up, he still believes other black performers are not given enough opportunities “I’m a black guy, and I get to be on telly But that’s unusual, so you get noticed.

Felix Dexter is funny, John Simmit is funny, Junior Simpson is funny – why haven’t these guys got a TV series? Good people aren’t getting a chance. Society as a whole is more tolerant, but some black people don’t think that. I’m sorry, but they want more and bigger change now, please – and I can’t help but agree with them. I don’t walk around outside Television Centre with a placard, but the entertainment industry really needs to change Don’t hold your breath, though.”Henry has just turned 40 His mother died recently He’s acquired a more reflective attitude to life “I don’t rush headlong into things any more.

You can’t force things – otherwise it looks like you’re trying too hard I was a yes man for a long time But if you spread yourself too thin, it does harm I was busy, busy, busy. But now I make sure I’m not juggling 10 balls because even the best jugglers can’t do that. It sounds pompous, but now I try to ensure there’s a level of quality in the work. Admittedly that’s very difficult for someone who wore a red leather bikini with feathers coming out of his arse on Comic Relief night.”No doubt particularly after last week’s tabloid firestorm, Henry is anxious to keep his and Dawn French’s seven-year-old daughter Billie out of the limelight “It’s not her fault we’re on telly.