Charles Dance's 34-year marriage ended because he "succumbed to some temptations"

During an appearance on the 'Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth' podcast, he explained: "For the most part it was a wonderful marriage. But then, unfortunately, I succumbed to some temptations along the way and the marriage ended because of my behaviour really."

He went on to reveal they had started to grow apart and he ended up confessed everything to her. Charles went on: "We were living in Somerset, in this enormous place, and Jo had her study at one end and I had mine at the other end, and we became a bit like George and Martha [in] 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' really after a while.

"Eventually I came back and I thought: 'Really, we have to have [a] very serious conversation'. And I had to come clean and it came as a shock to Jo, bless her."

He went on to insist there was "no justification" for his antics, adding: "I don't want to be seen to be scrabbling around for excuses. I never thought of myself as attractive.

"I really didn't. [It] wasn't until I did [TV series] 'The Jewel In The Crown' years later and people talked about me as being 'the thinking woman's crumpet'.

"I always felt very grateful if girls behaved as if they were attracted to me. But there is no justification for it [his behaviour], you know ...

"In our business ... temptation is often presented and you have to be pretty together and balanced, and have not a particularly powerful libido to not succumb to that.

"So, the marriage came to an end - huge regret. But after about 18 months, Jo and I, thankfully, became the best of friends, and we remain so, thank God."

When asked if he would have done anything differently, Charles concluded: "Of course. Oh my goodness, the benefit of hindsight. It took me a long time to learn the law of cause and effect."

After the end of his marriage, Charles went on to date Eleanor Boorman and they became parents to a daughter before splitting in 2012.

The actor is now dating Italian girlfriend Alessandra Masi after they met on the set of his film 'The Book of Vision' where she was working as a production manager.

When asked about his favourite memory of working on the movie, Charles told The Times newspaper: "To be honest, it's meeting Alessandra."

He went on to reveal she is now living with him a lot of the time, adding "which I'm really pleased about."

Charles was asked whether striking up a romance with Alessandra overshadowed his work on the film, and he replied: "Well, it does a bit. Alessandra's fantastic. I'm very, very lucky."