Matt Berry on Toast of London: 'The actors who are quickest to temper are those of a certain age. They're consumed by bitterness "It's the story of a middle-aged actor named Steven Toast who's in a terrible West End play," explains Berry. It's basically the things that happen to Toast on his way to the theatre each night. Co-written with Father Ted's Arthur Mathews, a pilot episode aired last year to rave reviews. Channel 4 duly commissioned a six-part series. Berry is 39 himself, so how come his anti-hero is in his fifties? Because of experiences I've had with other actors. The ones who are quickest to temper are of a certain age. They've had time to watch their contemporaries do well and get consumed by bitterness. Toast is based on a bunch of actors but especially one guy. I worked with him on a film and realise that if I mentioned any actor who was around his age but more successful, it would drive him insane. So from sheer devilment, I'd do it on purpose. I'd casually refer to, say,Ian McShane and he'd explode: "Don't talk to me about Ian bloody McShane," and launch into this rant. So I wear ageing make-up, some fat padding, a grey streak in my hair... Why the name Steven Toast? "It's just the kind of name that an actor of that generation would have," replies Berry, chuckling. I wanted an actor-ish name that wasn't too stupid. I came up with a few, then gave the dafter ones, like Ray Purchase and Cliff Promise, to secondary characters. Each episode also sees Toast do an advertising voice-over, a world that Berry - as the rich baritone behind Absolute Radio, Volvic water, Muller yogurt and countless others -knows only too well. "In the pilot, Toast did one where he just had to say "Yes" over and over again. That came from one of my own experiences, where I had to repeat a single word. I said it about a million times before they'd got enough options. It got to the stage where I just couldn't say it in any more ways. The opening episode also features a woman whose botched cosmetic surgery has left her looking uncannily like a certain showbiz veteran. "That was just an excuse to get 1970s Bruce Forsyth in," laughs Berry. The prosthetics were amazing. We didn't have a clue how it was going to turn out but it looked so much like him, it sucked all the air out of the room. Brucey's always been there in our lives, hasn't he? The Generation Game, then Play Your Cards Right. I feel a bit sorry for him now, fluffing gags on Strictly. It's not a great way to end, is it? Every Toast of London story climaxes in a musical number, which enables Berry - who also has a thriving music career, having released four albums - to combine his twin passions of comedy and composition. It's kind of like The Hulk, when he'd get pushed into a corner, snap and turn green. Toast gets to the end of his tether and bursts into song, almost in a Dennis Potter way. I was a big fan of that device. He laughs: "Hulk meets Dennis Potter - that doesn't happen too often." Berry also performs Toast of London's theme tune, which he scored with the Grammy-winning composer David Arnold, who's also written the music to five Bond films and Sherlock. Arnold is a close friend of Berry's - a connection which led to Berry's biggest gig yet, as a voice during the Olympic Closing Ceremony. It was a huge honour. David was musical director of London 2012 and he just rang up the day before the ceremony and said, "Do you want to talk to 750 million people?" I didn't tell my family about it but they were watching on TV and nearly fell off the sofa when they heard my voice. A mischievous twinkle appears in Berry's eye. I won't tell them I'm doing this interview either. My parents take the Telegraph, so they'll open it up and go, "What the...?" I get a kick out of that. I showed my dad the first episode of Toast of London the other night. He laughed a bit but when it finished, he just turned to me and said, "You're an idiot." I loved that. Toast of London is on Channel 4 on Sunday, October 20 at 10.30pm