It’s a complaint more usually heard from actresses, but Tom Hughes has claimed that there are not enough varied acting roles available to men, either.

The Silk actor said that in the past there had been far more characters for actors to get their teeth into than were currently on offer.

He said: “For a while now, I’ve been lamenting the lack of parts that have the same dexterity of conflict in the leading man compared to what we had in the Seventies.

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Tom Hughes stars with Brian Cox in The Game (BBC)

“During that time, there seemed to be an array of characters that dealt with all the sides of what it meant to be a man, from the pressure of being perceived to be strong to also dealing with the sensitivities of emotion.”

But Tom added of playing Joe Lambe in BBC Two’s new thriller The Game: “I found that Joe had every single facet in one character.”

The 29-year-old actor, who has modelled for Burberry, also said that costume and set design were key for helping him to get into character in Cold War period drama The Game.

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Tom Hughes in The Game (BBC)

He said: “It’s the same as an actor when you walk onto a well-dressed set, and the attention to detail on The Game is amazingly good. I just have to put my suit on, my sideburns; I smoke a cigarette and walk onto the set.”

The Game begins on BBC Two on Thursday, April 30.