The English-born actor is known for playing terrifying clown Pennywise in Stephen King's It, mad scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Wadsworth the barmy butler in Clue.

"I'm glad I scared so many people with that voice and left such a lasting impression - that's exactly the effect I was going for," he said of playing Pennywise.

The 63-year-old is "amused" by the success of his previous works.

"It's amusing to me, really, because Rocky Horror was a disaster when it came out," he said.

"It's since made a quarter of a billion or something, and Clue went straight down the toilet when it came out but has had a huge life on TV and DVD."

This Christmas, Tim will play archaeologist Lord Boynton in ITV's latest Poirot adaptation Appointment With Death.

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't just play dreadful old villains," he said.

"One of the reasons I wanted to play the part of Lord Boynton is that he's not evil, but brilliantly eccentric. Lord Boynton is an obsessive, to the point where he can't manage any relationship. He's of that breed, you know, the last of the 'stiff upper lip' academics."

:: Agatha Christie's Poirot: Appointment With Death can be seen on ITV1 on Christmas Day.