Actor Nigel Planer has revealed that he used to be a gravedigger before his rise to fame.

The Young Ones star, whose Jewish dad escaped the Nazis, opened up about his childhood, family life and earnings from his career.

Asked in an interview with The Telegraph about his younger years, Planer explained: “I was one of three boys and grew up in Mortlake, southwest London. 

“My dad, who did secretive War Office work during the Second World War, started his own company after the war, patenting products he’d either invented or developed with others.

"We were comfortably off, but being self-employed he would occasionally have bad months, so some years we didn’t have a summer holiday.

“I was aware of the constant strain on my dad of trying to ensure that we enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle; that probably explains why he was quite snappy at times."

Planer, who has also featured in a string of hit West End shows including the 1997 revival of Chicago, previously revealed his late father George, who moved to Britain in 1933 aged 13, only revealed his Jewish ancestry in the 1980s.

Asked about his first job, Planer said: “Working as a gravedigger for a few months in a local cemetery when I was 18. It was incredibly boring and I was useless at it, so I quit after a couple of months."

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English actor Nigel Planer on Berwick Street in Soho in July 1984 (Photo: Getty)

When asked if he received any pocket money during his childhood, he said: “Yes. I can’t remember exactly how much, but you could buy four farthing chews for a penny when I was a kid.

“On special occasions my grandparents gave me two shillings and sixpence which I’d put towards buying plastic assembly kits of historical figures like the Black Prince.”

After growing up in south West London, Planer studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before embarking on a career in comedy.

His most famous role was Neil in The Young Ones, which ran from 1982 to 1984, but he also appeared in Blackadder, The Bill, and Death in Paradise.

Discussing how being on The Young Ones changed his life, the 70-year-old said: “We were all surprised by the speed with which the show made us household names – testament to the power of television. 

“I was once recognised purely by my voice, by someone walking behind me in Shaftesbury Avenue. They caught up and said: “I thought it was you. I never realised I had such a recognisable voice!”

However, despite the success, Planer admitted the programme did not “make him a millionaire.”

He added: “We only made 12 episodes of The Young Ones which equates to about 14 weeks’ work. Yes, we got paid a decent enough weekly fee, but any additional royalties you make are based on a percentage of that fee, so none of us got rich on the back of the show.

“I’ve made roughly the same amount in residuals from appearing in one episode of Black Adder in the 1990s than I’ve made in residuals from The Young Ones.”