Martin Clunes "did not appreciate" being made fun of because of his ears.
Martin Clunes has learned to embrace his protruding ears
The 61-year-old actor enjoyed massive TV success with his role on 'Men Behaving Badly' in the 1990s alongside Neil Morrissey and while at the time he did not enjoy being shamed over the protruding appearance of his ears at the time, he now thinks they are "rather splendid" as he mused that they have probably helped him in his career.
He told Woman's Weekly magazine: "I don't have leading-man looks [but] age gives you greater perspective. The younger me didn't much enjoy having my appearance insulted or being 'ear-shamed', for example. Now, I think my ears are rather splendid, and I realise they earned me roles I might not otherwise have had."
Meanwhile, the former 'Doc Martin' star is now fronting 'Britain By the Book' along with former 'Great British Bake Off' host Mel Giedroyc, a new documentary which will see the pair explore landmarks that have inspired various pieces of classic literature but revealed that when he was growing up, his mother would not allow him to read anything by legendary 'Famous Five' author Enid Blyton, nor did she allow them to watch anything by Disney because she "couldn't bear" anything that focused on children.
He added: "My mother would forgive me for saying that she was something of a literary snob, and we didn't get any Enid Blyton or anything Disney, either. She wasn't keen on anything really child-centric. She couldn't bear it. The idea of taking us to Disney then would have done her in. She took us to antiques shops."
'Britain By the Book' airs on Wednesday 6 September on ITV1 and ITVX.
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