He may have a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp, but veteran actor Warren Clarke is the first to admit he's just a big softie underneath.

The Dalziel and Pascoe actor was able to show his more tender side during the filming of his latest role in the BBC's new rural drama Down to Earth.

As florist-turned-smallholder Brian Addis, Clarke, 53, had to film a scene in which he helps give birth to a calf and faced with a pregnant cow and a pair of rubber gloves, he was overcome with emotion.

It was quite moving, I was welling up, he says. I was actually supposed to be helping the calf to be born, so I put the marigolds on and got stuck in.

He adds with a smile: It was all right by the cow, so it was all right by me. She gave me a couple of strange looks, but she was a very charming lady.

The series, which also stars Pauline Quirke of Birds of a Feather fame, centres on the Addis family, headed by Clarke's character who decides to quit the rat race in favour of a rural existence. Although there are many who would envy the family's decision to up sticks and move, Manchester-bred Clarke is not one of them.

I love the rat race, he says. A few years ago I had thought of giving it all up and growing oranges or tomatoes somewhere. But not knowing how to do either of those things meant I didn't bother.

When I was a kid in Manchester there were three farms close by and I used to go and look at the animals. However, playing Brian Addis meant getting up really close and it can be quite dangerous being stamped on by a cow.

Clarke's tough guy looks mean that he has often been cast as a hardman and he admits being type-cast has had its own drawbacks. He was one of the stars of the film A Clockwork Orange, banned from being shown in Britain by its director Stanley Kubrick after it sparked off violent copycat incidents.

Part of my career disappeared at the same time, he says sadly. Had it been around longer, I'd have enjoyed the same roller coaster ride as today's young actors. He reveals that when the film was finally re-released last year following Kubrick's death, he found himself the subject of some unwanted attention.

A couple of guys who had just seen it wanted to pick a fight with me in a Birmingham bar. They were pushing and shoving, just being stupid.

I said, 'Hang on, I'm in my 50s, I don't want a fight, I can't run so give me a break', he says. The first time it came out I could handle it, I could fight and run!

Clarke has no problem with his portly appearance and jokes about being fat and unfit dubbing himself and Pauline Quirke The Blobbys. He admits that as he gets older he is becoming increasingly aware of his physical limitations.

I'm too old to ride a motorbike, which they wanted me to do on Down to Earth, he confesses. I said I would put my leg over, then get off and leave the stuntman to do the rest. But then just getting on to the bike proved to be the biggest laugh of my life. Pauline got on first, even though she was supposed to be riding pillion then I had to try and get on. It was hysterical, we were both in tears of laughter. But they kept the camera rolling, so it will probably end up with Denis Nordern on It'll Be Alright On The Night! Although he agrees he may not be an action man, the actor has his hands full on the domestic front, becoming a father again two years ago. He also has a grown-up son, Rowan, from his first marriage.

But it was leaving both his wife Michelle and baby daughter Georgia behind at home in Buckinghamshire during the filming of Down to Earth, which he says was the most diffiuclt thing.

I missed my daughter a lot and I'd like to be home more, he says. But you can't always do it, you've still got to go where the work is."

Clarke is keen to point out that Down to Earth may be a family saga about life in the country, but it is a far cry from either The Good Life or the ITV series Forever Green, which starred husband and wife team John Alderton and Pauline Collins.

That was very sweet and lovely, this has a reality to it. Pauline and I were very careful not to make it sugary. Down to Earth means what it says, things don't go right all the time, there are family rows and problems. It is about a real struggle.

In fact the series is based on the autobiographical experiences of West Country author Faith Addis. Her books have been adapted for the screen by Ashley Pharaoh and Helen Slavin. Following on from Down to Earth, Clarke is taking a well-earned break before deciding whether to reprise his role as the grumpy detective Dalziel in a new series.

Although he enjoys the role, which gave him his break into the TV big time, he admits he would rather go out on a high than see endless series being made for the sake of it.

Dalziel is better than all the characters I've ever played, the greatest guy, he says. I'll always stand up for him and say he is a humanitarian, he cares deeply about people.

But although I would like to do more, I am always wary of saying yes. Will we have the same budget or shooting schedule? And what are the scripts like? Let's just say that, after a holiday I'll be discussing it!

Down To Earth is on BBC1 beginning Bank Holiday Monday.