Who? Jason King? Private Detective Wyngarde.
Who? Try Peter Wyngarde.
Who? Shakespearean actor.
OK! So, Peter Wyngarde was the UK actor who played the hero role in two very successful BBC series, namely ‘Jason King’ and ‘Department S’. He was a 5’ 9” leading man who, at times, looked more like a History Professor than a Kung Fu exponent. He was as flamboyant in life as he was on screen.
At this time in London, I was night-shift manager of the BP petrol station in Hammersmith at the start of the M4 to Bristol. The shift started at 10pm and finished at 7am. We had lots of rich and famous as regulars such as Rod Stewart and Roger Daltrey. A lot of Londoners used “John” as a nickname instead of ‘mate’. I took weeks to become accustomed to “Fill ‘er up John”!
This servo was the third busiest in the UK and it was years before self-service stations appeared. We operated the pump, took their money and were as polite as possible so we could earn extra tips.
Autumn had faded at this time and London winter had settled in. I had borrowed a woollen coat with matching hood to help me survive the icy nights. Flared trousers, prominent moustaches, and platform boots with 2 to 4-inch-thick soles were all the rage. This particular night a dark green Jaguar pulled in and Peter Wyngarde got out as I went to serve him. I had a lot of dark hair and a big mo’. I’m 5’ 8” but with my platforms I looked like a six-footer. It was very weird when I faced Jason King who was taken back when he saw me in similar clothes to him. But rather than being amused as I was, he simply went “Humpff” and was a little indignant. What a silly prat I thought as he looked me up and down. Of course, he didn’t tip me.
About two weeks later, a friend, Sandra, asked me to join her for the opening night at the experimental theatre where she worked in Tottenham Court Road. The new play was “Fortune and Men’s Eyes” and about one hundred people were invited. I happily joined Sandra in the foyer wearing the most theatrical clothes I owned, mainly black and purple as I recall. A few minutes later, clutching my drink in hand, someone placed a seriously firm grip on my elbow. I couldn’t escape it and turned to see Peter Wyngarde (alias Jason King) wearing purple and black! He smiled, or smirked, then came the gentle put down… (with his frightfully upper-class accent) … “I admire your taste young man but please don’t allow this to occur again he-he chuckle-chuckle”!
I never did see him again at the BP station, although I was told he came in one night a few weeks later in his dark Jaguar. The end of the story is that I owned a silver Jensen Interceptor at this time but rarely used it in the London traffic. An Aussie mate had arrived for a short visit and wanted a first-class circuit around London in the Jensen. Not far from Piccadilly we stopped beside a roofless red tourist bus. About twenty people werehanging off the sides, looking down at us and rapidly taking
photos. What the hell was this?! And my mate says, “The bloody idiots think you’re Jason King.” This was the closest I ever got to fame!
John A Wilson, Gold Coast, January 2021
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