WE should consider ourselves incredibly lucky that one of the greatest actors of the last 50 years not only loves Bolton, but has chosen to spend his 80th birthday here as part of his one-man tour of the country.

Sir Ian McKellen will celebrate his milestone birthday tomorrow with a show at the Albert Halls.

He lived in Bolton for most of his teenage years, when his father became borough engineer and Sir Ian attended Bolton School.

He is undoubtedly a master of his craft, revered by peers like Dame Judi Dench, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Sir Anthony Hopkins not only for his technical skill, but his passion for theatre - especially amateur dramatics - and his campaigning for gay rights.Those who know him say they are struck by how down to earth and generous he is.

I can vouch for that. I interviewed him weeks before the second Lord of the Rings movies, The Two Towers, was released in 2001.

For most big names such a meeting would usually be in a hotel, watched over by a jumpy PR minder, checking to make sure you haven’t overrun the allotted slot. My encounter couldn’t have been more different. I managed to get a message to Sir Ian saying I was from the Bolton Evening News and would he mind talking to us about his role as Gandalf in what would be the biggest film of the year.

There was no agent as a middle man; Sir Ian said he would be happy to talk to a reporter. He explained that he had seriously considered journalism as a profession and had applied for and been interviewed for a job as a trainee reporter at the Evening News, which he didn’t get for a reason best known to the editor at the time.

Thankfully, local journalism’s loss was the acting profession’s gain.

That interview, which took place in his stepmother’s home in Cumbria, was amazing. Sir Ian, who was then one of the most high profile actors on the planet asked if we would like a drink and popped into the kitchen, only to return with tea and biscuits for the photographer and I.

We must have spent at least an hour and a half talking about his early life in Bolton, his career and his decision to come out as a gay man in 1988 after years of being in the closet.

What became abundantly clear during our conversation was that he retained a huge affection for Lancashire and in particular Bolton. This period was when his love of theatre was kindled.

He told how he would spend as much time as he could at the two theatres in Churchgate (The Grand and the Theatre Royal). His love of drama was encouraged by his teachers at Bolton School and he performed his first Shakespeare there as Malvolio in Twelfth Night and over the years he has played a huge variety of roles, from Shakespeare’s characters, to Widow Twankey.

Those of us lucky to be at tomorrow’s show are undoubtedly in for a treat. Let’s hope that Sir Ian enjoys his special birthday in his spiritual home. Many happy returns Sir!