RESTORATION OF A STATELY HOMO

WITH a spring in his step, a defiant smile and a fabulous fedora worn at a "jaunty" angle, John Hurt is instantly recognisable as he reprises one of his most famous roles.

Three decades after he embraced his inner dandy playing gay raconteur Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant, he has taken on the role again for a sequel, An Englishman in New York.

As he filmed in Manhattan this week, dressed in velvet suit and flamboyant flowing scarf, it was clear he has slipped back into character as if it was yesterday.

The Naked Civil Servant, still regularly cited as one of the best TV dramas ever filmed, made international stars of Crisp and Hurt.

The former once referred to himself as the Stately Homo of England and the phrase was later used as the title of a book of interviews. RESTORATION OF A STATELY HOMO
UK Express, UK -