Sometime around the age of 10 I used to run round in the back garden and come to a sudden halt. I would hold my arm out, hand belly button high, in front of me and start breathing deeply, pretending I was slowly transforming into either an eagle or a panther. This was me trying to re-enact scenes from the TV series Manimal, but without a special effects budget.

I confess to this as I have come back from the pub to read the actor, Simon MacCorkindale, has passed away today. I know his current acting role on British TV is in Casualty but I haven’t watched that since at least he started acting in that. He probably has been other famous roles but however great they were, the sight of him turning into whatever member of the animal kingdom he wanted to be struck a chord with child me. Now I think about it, I fail to recall trying so hard to ever be any other super powered hero.