Saturday tea-times were never quite the same after Michael Praed hung up his bow and arrow.

Robin Of Sherwood, drawing on the mystical pagan elements of the Herne the Hunter legend, was a prime-time TV highlight of the 1980s.

As the mist rose, to Clannad’s haunting soundtrack, he’d emerge, pulling down his hood to reveal flowing, shoulder-length hair. Michael was what Jackie magazine called a ‘dreamboat’. No teenage girl’s bedroom was complete without his poster on the wall.

If only I’d known, while glued to my weekly dose of Robin Of Sherwood, that two decades later I’d be sitting in his dressing-oom… “You’ve been where?” spluttered my sister-in-law, who still owns the Clannad album she bought simply because Michael’s picture was on the cover.

The actor is currently in Bradford, starring in The Sound Of Music, which has practically sold out its month-long run. He plays Captain Von Trapp opposite Connie Fisher as Maria in the much-loved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

Michael, 49, is enjoying Von Trapp’s emotional journey. “This is a man who’s emotionally bankrupt. He can’t bear to be around his children because they’re a constant reminder of his great loss; his dead wife. Overhanging everything is the spectre of Nazism,” he says. “Then he has this joyful experience; music and love returns to his house. It’s a hugely-profound journey, it’s one of redemption. My memory of the story tends to be of something saccharine, but this production is more than that. The director, Jeremy Sams, has brought out a powerful emotional journey and, to his credit, played against sentimentality.”

The final scenes, with Nazi officers pointing guns at the audience during the Salzburg Festival, are chilling. Michael’s portrayal of Von Trapp, filled with anguish at the prospect of leaving Austria and putting his family at risk, is particularly moving.

“It’s unsettling seeing that huge swastika unfolding, and the Nazis’ armbands. Chilling subliminal messages you can’t escape from,” he says.

Was he daunted at the prospect of taking on a role so closely associated with Christopher Plummer in the 1965 movie?

“No, as an actor you have your own take on a role, you bring something new to it. It’d be foolish to do an impression of another actor’s performance,” he says. “Fundamentally, an actor’s job is to tell a story as truthfully as you can. You get to know your character intimately – more than you know yourself. Propelled by the emotion of a scene, you can play it slightly differently each time. No two performances are the same.”

Michael was at boarding school when he discovered acting. “I did some school plays and knew it was what I wanted to do – although I might as well have said I wanted to be an astronaut!” he smiles.

“Acting wasn’t a profession you were expected to go into. But there was a teacher who became a mentor. I went to an audition and it paid off.”

Barely into his twenties, he shot to fame in Robin Of Sherwood which was a hit both sides of the Atlantic. He went on to star in Dynasty when the Eighties soap was at its peak, and dramas such as Riders, Crown Prosecutor and Casualty. His theatre credits include West End productions of Aspects Of Love, Copacabana, An Ideal Husband and Carousel, and his films include Dangerous Obsession and Staggered.

It’s as the iconic Robin Hood that he’s best-known. “We had no idea it would be such a success; we were too busy working hard!” says Michael. “It was a great experience but I didn’t get carried away. There’s no such thing as security for an actor, it can be a brutal business. Only a tiny percentage are in work. It’s incredibly tough.

“Things can go well, then, in an instant, be disastrous. You can never tell what’s going to be a hit. It’s very unpleasant to be at the receiving end of something that’s not well-received.

“I’ve had experiences of being out of work; that’s often the reality of an actor’s life. You need the mindset to put up with that insecurity. As this recession grips, I feel for those who’ve lost livelihoods and are looking at mortgage demands, having to go for handouts when it’s the last thing they want to do.”

If there’s a positive spin-off from the recession, it’s that the theatre tends to do well in times of economic misery. The Sound Of Music’s sell-out run shows that we crave escapism.

“In the Great Depression of the 1930s cinema did well, but it was cheap,” says Michael. “Theatre isn’t cheap, but then this is a lavish show – it has Arlene Philips’s choreography, wonderful sets and effects. The whole thing is incredibly slick, it’s a West End experience.

“I hate the elitism about musicals in some theatrical circles. How can you say one genre is better than another? It’s infuriating when critics dismiss something as ‘emotionally manipulative’. It’s a story, for heaven’s sake – that’s the point!

“I’d rather have my emotions manipulated than watch Waiting For Godot, a play with no plot.”

Our photographer arrives and we make our way to the Alhambra’s Circle Bar. Photos over, we say goodbye. It’s like Robin Hood disappearing into the mist all over again. If I listen hard enough, I can hear Clannad… The Sound Of Music runs at the Alhambra until September 26. For ticket enquiries, ring (01274) 432000.