Sir Lenny Henry reveals how mother's death drove him to Shakespeare and school

After being honoured with a special award at the 2016 Baftas, the Dudley-born actor and presenter shared the stories that led to his success in a documentary Sir Lenny Henry: A Life On Screen.

Describing his mother's death in 1998, the 58-year-old said: "It was like somebody had pulled the rug away from your entire world and so I was just a bit off piste thinking 'what am I gonna do?' And I decided to go back to school."

Sir Lenny achieved a BA Hons degree in English Literature through an Open University course, although he did not enjoy studying Shakespeare and had to force himself to listen to the plays on his daily commute between London and Reading.

But it was not until he described Shakespeare as a "middle class, Oxbridge thing" on the radio that his mind was changed by actor Barry Rutter. Rutter told him: "I'm the son of a working class fisherman, your dad worked in a factory, we're both working class lads – Shakespeare is for us as well as them."

The documentary celebrates Sir Lenny's long and successful television career and also sees the comedy star open up about his family history, which he touched on in his semi-autobiographical 2015 TV film Danny And The Human Zoo.

Sir Lenny said he 'always felt a bit different' as a child because he was raised by a man who was not his birth father, due to his mother having an affair after moving from Jamaica to the UK. He said: "My parents had come over previously to find work and to start a new life and my mum came over first because my Uncle Clifton said 'you can earn money here, up to 30 shillings a week'.

"There was a sense of disconnect because my dad was still in Jamaica. She fell in love with somebody when she was here and I'm the result of that

."Sir Lenny added that his fictionalised account of his childhood in the film was true where his mother was concerned.

Sir Lenny Henry: A Life On Screen airs tonight on BBC Two at 9pm.