"I AM a celebrity," insists Jonathon Morris, "but I got out of there."

In case you're wondering, Jonathon played Adrian in the hit TV comedy Bread back in the 1980s.

However since then, he claims, he has moved on to higher things.

He said: "As far as Bread goes, it's done a lot for me. I will never knock it. But to talk about it as a piece of art is a waste of time. It's just TV that was done very well.

"I appreciate what it's done for my life, but it's not in my top 20 list of jobs that I've enjoyed. It's not even in the top 30 best performances I've given."

Instead, according to Jonathon, that list would include appearances on Through the Keyhole and presenting children's show The Movie Game, as well as roles in adaptations of Wuthering Heights and The Prisoner of Zenda.

And, he insists, he bears little resemblance to his most famous character, Liverpudlian poet Adrian.

"I've never pretended to be like my character to make me more money," he said.

"You've got to be strong and resist the temptations and the canker of my industry.

"You can see it with the TV show I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, where they have completely ridiculed the art of being an actor and a performer.

"I'm sticking by my principles."

Jonathon's principles have seen him studiously avoid typecasting for the past 15 years, but now he is returning to a variation on the character who made him well-known in the first place.

Next week he will appear in Blackpool in the comedy Beside the Seaside, in which he will play a naive young newlywed.

He said: "I've never done anything quite like it. The nearest character would be Adrian, from Bread."

Jonathon will star alongside a cast that includes Chloe Newsome (Coronation Street's Vicky MacDonald) and Bobby Knutt (Emmerdale's Albert Dingle).

He said: "It's a real gem of a play, set in a Blackpool boarding house. It's a wonderful piece of writing. We're getting more laughter than I've ever received for any play I've done."

Beside the Seaside runs at the Blackpool Grand from June 3 to June 7. Call 01253 290190 for details.