Under the microscope: 72-year-old actor Simon Callow answers our health test –

Can you run up the stairs?

Yes, and I never stand still on an escalator. I have a trainer on the iPad three times a week – one hour session, mostly cardiovascular stuff.

Have you ever dieted?

Yes, I had to. I have a terrible tendency to expand. About two years ago, after a vacation in Greece, my husband Sebastian was delighted to show me pictures – and I would be totally global. I immediately changed my diet and got more serious about exercising. I lost 2¼m and had to buy a new wardrobe. I now weigh 12½m (that’s 5 feet 7½ inches).

Any flaws?

Shift. And in the right conditions, I can drink a lot. But the punishment you pay now is so great by smashing the brain cells that they are behind in everything.

Any family ailments?

My father died of cirrhosis at age 57 and drank a bottle of brandy a day. My mother hardly ever drank, but her parents were heavy drinkers; very welcoming, to throw a party at every opportunity and open another bottle at every opportunity. My aunt always started her day with a glass of whiskey before she went to work and she loved a glass of beer. My mother died of dementia at the age of 98.

Worst disease?

Very small. In that respect, I’ve had a magical life, but my knees are a real problem. There’s not much you can do but cartilage and surgery and I don’t have time for that.

take the pills?

I need to take a statin. I have this type of recurrent herpes that sometimes break out on my face and I take tablets for it every day.

Has anything been deleted?

My tonsils and appendix.

Dealing well with pain?

Very good. In the 1970s I went to an acupuncturist who treated me for hay fever. I once went to the dentist after seeing him and he said, “I hope he doesn’t give you an injection because then all the benefits of acupuncture are lost.” He told me to try to distinguish between expected pain and real pain – and it worked.

Take supplements?

Vitamin B12, cod liver oil and iron.

I’m claustrophobic. Hilariously, while I was directing A Christmas Carol in Houston, Texas, I was invited aboard a NASA spacecraft to go to the moon, and I couldn’t; I couldn’t do it

Have you ever been depressed?

There were dark times when I faced financial difficulties.

Do you have a phobia?

I’m claustrophobic. Hilariously, while I was directing A Christmas Carol in Houston, Texas, I was invited aboard a NASA spacecraft to go to the moon, and I couldn’t; I couldn’t do it.

Do you want to live forever?

Why? I feel no less energetic at 73 than at 23.

Simon can be seen at Everything Goes at the Barbican Theatre, London from 25 June to 3 September 2022.