WINDSOR FESTIVAL: Sir John Mortimer - review

Sir John Mortimer is a national treasure. Everyone knows his most famous creation the rebellious barrister Horace Rumpole, writes Francis Batt.

Many have read his novels and seen his plays. Almost everyone has watched and enjoyed a film written by him, often without even realising he wrote it.

As a barrister he championed liberal causes, taking on print censorship in several high profile trials. He had a wonderful knack of annoying judges.

Watching him interviewed by his biographer Valerie Grove at the Guildhall on Monday as part of Windsor Festival you could still see the Mortimer spirit burning undimmed beneath the frail exterior of an 85-year-old man who admitted he cannot put his own socks on any more.

Ms Grove touched delicately on the fact that Sir John's first wife Penelope Mortimer wrote a blistering book clearly based on their own marriage.

He made no attempt to deny that the louche fictional husband in the book was himself happily announcing 'Peter Finch played me in the film version'.

Prompted by Valerie Grove he retold familiar but cherishable tales of pompous old British judges forever asking what oral sex was, expressing shock that two gay guys should have used historic Waterloo Bridge for their tryst and interrupting trials to hear the latest cricket results.

Listening to him you realised that Sir John actually rather liked the miserable old judges he used to annoy. He is a man who genuinely likes the human race even though he clearly needed watching by the ladies in his life.

The man who defended so many books charged with obscenity has always written books, plays and films that reflected this love of people.

Hearing him relive his days writing propaganda films at Pinewood Studios during the war, it was pure pleasure to hear him retell the tale of the nun 'queueing for lunch in the canteen commenting: It is being a virgin that makes you so ******* hungry.' But it was a total delight to hear the throwaway punchline: 'she wasn't a real nun of course,' delivered with such throwaway panache.

He was totally unfazed by the discovery in his 80s thanks to the digging of an uninvited biographer that he had a 42-year-old love child by a famous actress.

His son was equally surprised but the two men got on at once when they discovered a mutual love of Fred Astaire at their first meeting.

People do not become universally loved by accident. Sir John deserves it.

For more news and reviews from Windsor Festival visit our Theatre or Music section.