Are people going to say, 'What the devil is he doing that for? Doesn’t anyone else want him to do anything else?'. 'I thought, well, it’s 22 years since I played that part on television. 'I just make an appearance for a while, just a cameo. In an interview with Radio Times that year, Mr Hardiman admitted he was 'slightly nervous' about reprising his role as the Headmaster. The show ended in 1998 after it ran for three seasons but Mr Hardiman reprised his role for a cameo following a CBBC reboot in 2019. And we’ve had a few people in political positions, haven’t we, in the world, like that?' Stage and screen star 'He believes, passionately and deeply and dangerously, that his way is the way that the world should go. 'I mean, he’s a horrible person who wants to rule the world,' he added. Reflecting on the Headmaster role, Mr Hardiman said he wasn't surprised the ruthless authoritarian character continued to be popular with audiences. 'But then the slightly more remarkable thing, I found, was that it wasn’t just children who were watching. And there were people – youngsters – looking at me, and shouting out at me, and making fun of me, which is very healthy. He told the BBC: 'I started to be recognised in the street, especially as I lived near schools around here, in North-West London. In previous interviews Hardiman remarked he had 'no idea' the series would become a success as parents as well as children tuned in to watch.

'He will be very much missed and my sympathies are with his family.' He recorded thousands of hours of talking books, entirely free, for Calibre Audio. 'When The Demon Headmaster TV show was previewed, for the cast and their families, he went round and talked to all the little brothers and sisters beforehand, so they wouldn’t be frightened when they saw him on the screen.

She said: 'I’m very sorry to hear that Terrence has died He was a wonderful actor, a great Demon Headmaster and a very kind and thoughtful man. Ms Cross told The Telegraph how Mr Hardiman spoke to younger siblings of the cast when the show was previewed so they wouldn't be frightened when they saw his character on screen.

His character, the demonic headmaster, had piercing green eyes which he hid behind dark glasses - only to remove them when he hypnotised his victims. His most high-profile role was as the title character in CBBC series The Demon Headmaster, the TV series based on the children's books of the same name by Gillian Cross. Mr Hardiman's death was announced on Tuesday by his agents Scott Marshall Partners, which described him as a 'beloved client and much-loved stage and screen actor'. Actor Terrence Hardiman, best known for playing The Demon Headmaster who terrified a generation of children in the 1990s, has died at the age of 86.

Facing the demon headmaster