Which was your best holiday?
A family holiday in Corfu about 20 vears aso. It was just one of those really quiet beach holidays. We rented a villa just a stone's throw from the crystay-clear sea.

And the best hotel you've stayed in?
The Albergo Hotel in Beirut, which is the most lavish hotel I have ever stayed in. I had the presidential suite with a huge balcony that had its own three-piece suite. It was unbelievable and the food was great. The roof had an infinity pool where the water dropped off the edge of the bulldlng.

What do you need for a perfect holiday?
Being in the company of people I love.

What do you always take with you?
Books. It's great to read just for the sake of it rather than doing it with a view to the book becoming a film.

Where do you want to go next?
Somewhere in Greece, a country I really like. One of the lslands in the Dodecanese. . . perhaps Symi, where I filmed Pascali's Island, which doesn't get inundated with tourists. I'd also like to go back to the Arctic, where I once worked - I got within 20 miles of the North pole and discovered that I feel better in extreme cold than in extreme heat, which I can't really take any more.

...and disasters?
What was your worst holiday?
In Turkey. I can't remember the name of the place but I believed the brochure that said it was a sleepy fishing hamlet. It was utterly squalid and the rooms were basic.

And your worst experience on holiday?
A brief stay at a friend's house in Barbados. I woke up one night to a rustling sound. There was an arm coming through the two inches of window that I had opened because it was hot. The arm held a stick, on the end of the stick was my bag. I saw this, shouted, threw a pillow and the stick and bag dropped and the arm shot back out of the window. I got to the window in time to see this guy legging it down to the beach.

What's the biggest packing mistake you've made?
I have yet to master the art of travelling light and usually pack three times as much as I need.

Which is the worst hotel you've stayed in?
I can't think of one but if I could then it is bound to be one in England. I'm sure there is one and I'd love to blow the gaff on it but I don't hang on to bad memories too much.

What do you avoid on holiday?
People. I'm on holiday to get away from people.

What do you hate about holidays?
The actual travelling. These days the time it takes to get to an airport, check in and go through the security procedures is often as long as the flight, if not longer.

Charles Dance appears in 'To The Ends of the Earth' on Wednesdays, BBC2, 9pm.

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