Alex Eckford grills actor Christopher Ellison about his new Fiat Bravo, his love of classic cars and how he almost died on the M25.

“I woke up and realised I was driving down the bank at the side of the M25. I almost died.”

Seven years ago actor Christopher Ellison came close to death when he fell asleep at the wheel.

On tour with a play near Newcastle, Chris decided to drive back down to his home on the south coast overnight.

“Stupidly, I tried to drive all the way in one go,” says Chris. “I got diverted off the M1, miles out of the way. By the time I got to the M25 I was exhausted, fell asleep, and woke up to the sound of braches bouncing off the windscreen.

“But because I was driving a really solidly built Mercedes 200 W123 Series the car didn’t roll over. Atfer my little safari through the bushes I just stopped the car, switched off the engine and walked away. I was incredibly fortunate because I just happened to go off the motorway at the only part with no barriers and no trees.

“And the police said I was really lucky because there had been two or three fatalities on that stretch of motorway in the previous months.”

Chris’ current car is a Fiat Bravo 1.6 MultiJet Eco.

Chris has also taken part in Fiat’s new ‘Bravo Challenge’ - a 48 hour invitation-only ‘go anywhere’ car adventure which took him and his new Bravo to the Scottish island of Mull.

“It was fantastic,” says Chris. “Such great scenery. And the car is great to drive, a great family motor, and a great eco car as the emissions are so low.”

Unsurprising for a man with a tough on-screen image, he’s enjoying a car with a little extra power.

“I like a car which I know has a decent amount of power,” says Chris. “And the Bravo's got the power to get you out of a spot of bother. And it looks great too.”

Chris is best known for his role as the no-nonsense Detective Inspector Frank Burnside in ITV’s long-running cop drama The Bill.

“It was the best show I’ve ever worked on,” says Chris. “We were like a family, all great buddies.

“We mostly drove Vauxhall Cavaliers in the show, and it was always really uncomfortable filming in the summer, as you had to have the windows closed and the air-conditioning off because of the noise.

“And they used to have velour upholstery which would give me massive electric shocks!”

One of Chris’ first acting jobs was in the classic 1970s cop show The Sweeney.

“I was in the third episode ever made,” says Chris. “I got shot, but at the end of the episode, so at least I had a decent part.

“The cars in The Sweeney were fantastic - Granadas, Jaguars - and you always knew which cars were going to get trashed, as they’d be the slightly older ones you hadn’t seen before.”

Chris’ first car was a racing green Vauxhall Cresta.

“It was a lovely car until I crashed it into the back of another motor,” says Chris. “It had a great column gear change, a red coach line down the side, but after I crashed it the bonnet went up and wouldn’t go down again.”

A keen user of this website, Chris has also owned a Hillman Hunter, a Land Rover Discovery (which he drove through Land Rover’s Jungle Track) and a bright yellow Datsun Cherry.

“I should be ashamed of buying that one!” says Chris.

I ask Chris if his hardman image has ever helped him in a motoring situation.

“A few years ago I was travelling to the West Country on the motorway, in a bit of a hurry,” says Chris. “I overtook a police car, and thought ‘Oh no’.

“I moved into the middle lane, and saw the police car approaching in my rear view mirror. I thought I was in trouble, but they pulled alongside me and waved hello!”