From Emma: Please tell us a real-life Jeffrey Bernard story. Was he as witty as he seemed? How did his demise affect you?
Tom responds: Hello Emma. Yes, Jeff was indeed witty. Most of the play is actually his writing taken from his column "Low Life' in The Spectator. I first met him in the mid ‘70s when he was still a relatively whole person. He was delightful, amusing company. My favourite story about him: at Royal Ascot he tagged on to a couple of racing people and asked them to take him in to the Royal Enclosure. "Impossible," they said. "You're not properly dressed." (He should have had a morning coat and a top hat.) "No, no, it'll be fine," replied Jeff. "But you've no hat," they said. "What will you raise to Her Majesty?" "The question of my knighthood," said Jeff. Jeff's death didn't affect me personally since we were acquaintances only. I was sad though, at the loss of such a wild, extraordinary character.

From Sean: Didn't you do this play originally? What made you want to come back to it? How is it different now?
Tom responds: Hello Sean. I first did this play in 1989 when, actually, I was too young for the role. I did it again on tour in 2000. The reason I came back to it is that it's highly enjoyable to do since the audience has such a good evening. That's all that matters in the theatre. The play is the same but my performance has changed since I'm older, and hopefully, wiser.

[From George: How did you prepare to play such a raging alcoholic? Did it put you off drink?
Tom responds: Hello George. There's a lot of nonsense talked about an actor's “preparation for a role.” You don't have to have killed your father and slept with your mother to play Oedipus, and you don't have to have got raging drunk 20 times to play Jeff. What is important is not that you know what it feels like to be drunk but what it looks like. I do drink but never to excess because I hate the feeling of being drunk so no, the play doesn't put me off. I hope that it puts some people off though. It's a killer and I've known a huge number of people whose lives have been destroyed by it.

From Kaye: We saw your performance. It was great. How is it to back to the stage? Do you prefer being on stage or doing films?
Tom responds: Hello Kaye. Thank you, I'm pleased that you enjoyed it. Yes it's always good to come back to the stage because for me, it's really the most fun. Movies are fun too but what makes the stage different is that there is nothing between you and the audience. No director, editor, producer or uninformed studio executives making decisions beyond one's control.

From Simon: What was one of the most interesting experiences you have had on stage when something did not go as rehearsed?
Tom responds: Hello Simon. I suppose the most extreme experiences were those, about four, I think, when a voice from the wings has whispered to me, "Tom, bomb threat. We have to evacuate the theatre." I always announce it from the stage, then stay there to keep people calm and keep them moving to the doors. Always an interesting experience.

From Eddie: Do you find comedy as challenging as drama, and which do you prefer?
Tom responds: Hello Eddie. Comedy is for most actors far more difficult than drama and therefore a greater challenge. Those who are good at it make it look easy, but it's hugely exacting. The best plays are those which have a serious core but are also witty. Drama on its own doesn't work; it needs the counterpoint of comedy to heighten it.

From Izzy: What is the one role you have always wanted to play?
Tom responds: Hello Izzy. There isn't one really. When I was younger, I did want to play Peter Pan to try to lift it out of the Christmas romp that it usually is. Peter is a very complex and therefore fascinating character; at once fun and a dangerous elemental—and sad.

From Peter: Does the egg bit always work? I think it's brilliant.
Tom responds: Hello Peter. I muffed it a couple of nights ago. The egg landed on the table and broke. I said "I'm going to do this again and you’ll all stay here until I get it right." Of course, they laughed. Audiences love it when things go wrong—as long as the actors aren't thrown by it. Only twice before was there a problem, but in previous productions of the play. Once I dropped the egg as I was setting up the trick and one night it went wrong as I hit it. The egg went straight up in the air—but I caught it, which Jeff in his drunken state would have been unlikely to do.

From Peg: Is your daughter really a ventriloquist? How did that happen?
Tom responds: Hello Peg. Yes, Nina really is a ventriloquist. Your question, “How did that happen?” made me laugh; as though she'd dropped something on her foot. Nina had been in the Royal Shakespere Company for a year and it had rather put her off acting. Ken Campbell, who is a sort of mad genius with whom she had worked a few times, gave her a box and said, “Have a look at that, Nina.” Inside the box was a doll and a book called Teach yourself Ventriloquism. She discovered that it fascinated her, the idea of assuming a different personality for the doll. She is now the most successful ventriloquist in the U.K.

From Chloe Jane: Describe your rudest audience. How did you cope with it?
Tom responds: Hello Chloe Jane. Audiences in the theatre are never rude. That sort of thing happens only in places like comedy clubs. If an audience in the theatre doesn't laugh, then it's the fault of the performer. If the writing isn't funny, it's still the fault of the performer for deciding to do it in the first place.

From Maureen: What's the best part about being in the West End?
Tom responds: Hello Maureen. I first visited a West End theatre when I was about six, I suppose and found it very exciting. As I grew older, that excitement was maintained. When I became an actor, my goal was to work there. It finally happened in 1973, and I have done it, I think, 14 times since then. The West End is not what it was, though. It's much seedier and a lot more violent. A shame.