Heart-throb actor James Murray shot to fame as an ex-boy band hunk in BBC1's scissors-sister drama Cutting It, where he met his girlfriend, Sarah Parish. Now he's a rival sleuth to Miss Marple. Murray, 31, reveals all about his Welsh hideaway, meeting James Bond - and why he's currently chasing dinosaurs

Q: You're in this weekend's Miss Marple drama; who do you play?

A: I play a nosy reporter called Charles Burnaby, a bit of a charmer, who makes himself one of the house-guests at an isolated mansion, through his journalistic methods. Another guest is an eminent politician, tipped to be the next Prime Minister, who's played by Timothy Dalton - so to get close to him could be a big scoop for Charles.

Q: What was it like working with Timothy Dalton?

A: A big thrill. We all grew up with Timothy as James Bond - and I was a major James Bond fan. I got Jimmy Savile to fix it for me to be James Bond when I was seven!

So you know Timothy for one thing, I suppose, but when you're there on set, he's another actor playing another part, and all that Bond stuff goes out of the window. Which is just as well, really; can you imagine if he suddenly came out in a tux and with a martini in his hand!

Q: So would you like to be James Bond?

A: Bond is most actors' fantasy role. I'm probably a bit young, as yet! Let's see how Daniel Craig gets on.

Q: What's it like being part of a celebrity couple?

A: Well, that's not how Sarah (Parish) and I see ourselves! Inevitably with two people who are 'on the telly', you get the odd photograph in some magazine or paper. But so far, it's fine. We can go about our business pretty much untouched. There are a lot more interesting people than us out there!

Q: Any plans to marry?

A: Not yet. We've been together since the end of last summer - not even a year. Although we both live in London, we don't live together yet. But we're very happy.

Q: Do you have any holiday hideaways, or bolt-holes, where you can escape?

A: Yes, my brother, sister and I share some property in North Wales - in Abersoch, near Pwllheli. It's right on the coast, and it's absolutely beautiful. When we were growing up in Manchester, if we wanted to go to the seaside that's where we'd go.

Our family used to rent the same house, which is why we bought it when it came on the market.

I go there with Sarah whenever we can. We walk our two dogs, go fishing, do all those beachy things.

Q: What's your main hobby, away from acting?

A: Fishing. I'm very boring, that's what you'll catch me doing on an afternoon when I'm not at work. I started fly-fishing two years ago, so I try and do that as much as I can, and deep-sea fishing. Anything but coarse fishing, which is where you sit and wait; I'd rather watch paint dry.

Syon Park, near Chiswick, is the closest place to London for me to fish. It's a beautiful lake full of trout, and it's the perfect escape. And I fish in Wales too. Sarah caught her first trout in Syon Park just before Christmas. She's hooked - boom-boom!

Q: Was your Cutting It character Liam - an ex-boy band hunk with a rehab problem - inspired by Oasis singer Liam Gallagher?

A: Not that I'm aware, but apparently he wrote in to complain that there was a character in the show named after him.

Q: Did Cutting It increase your profile?

A: It did, I suppose. It was my first TV role for a couple of years - I'd been doing a lot of theatre - and it was a very popular series, so lots of people remember me in that. I wasn't sad the series ended though. I was ready to move on.

Q: What will we see you in next?

A: I'm currently filming Primeval, which is being described as ITV1's answer to Doctor Who, but that's not strictly accurate. It's a sci-fi drama about a crack team of scientists investigating a series of anomalies in time, which produce parallel worlds.

So they travel in time and come up against all sorts of long-extinct beastly opponents, from dinosaurs to giant insects. And yes, I chase dinosaurs. And they chase me too! The special effects are by the people who did Walking with Dinosaurs, so it should look fabulous.

Q: How did you enjoy your 'Darcy moment' in Under the Greenwood Tree on TV on Boxing Day last year?

A: Aah, yes - when I fell into the river while collecting scallops. Like you do. That was a lovely job, starring opposite Keeley Hawes, in a sweet Thomas Hardy story. I think it was a wholesome drama that helped people digest their Christmas pudding.

I had a few letters, mostly asking me if it was very cold in the water, and could they have a signed picture?

Q: Do you mind that 'heart-throb' attention?

A: Maybe I'm being incredibly ignorant, but I don't get a massive amount of female attention. I don't get jumped upon in the street, which I know some actors do. Maybe when I'm Bond!