REG can be seen playing a bed-head in the film “Bed”, which will be on BBC Prime (UK) on Saturday 18 May at 8:20pm CET

A star cast gets into bed together for this play by Jim Cartwright that deals with insomnia, growing old and death.

A retired sea captain (Lionel Jeffries) is compelled to go into an institution. In his dreams he joins the “Sleep Club” where he finds himself in bed with all the other residents, including June Brown (“Dot Cotton” in EastEnders).

Above them all gazes the spiteful face of the Bed Head (Richard E Grant) who, driven mad by his insomnia, pours abuse on the inhabitants of the bed.

“Bed Head is the patron saint of insomnia,” explains Richard. “He embodies pure malevolence although, to be fair, if we could never go to sleep, we’d get a bit short-tempered too.”

The play is both surreal, and a meditation on growing old and dying.

Apparently Richard will co-star in a series later on this year alongside Arabella Weir of The Fast Show. Arabella will play a modern-day Fanny Craddock in a pastiche cookery programme about husband and wife TV chefs who hate each other. She’s fat and bossy. He’s gay and celibate. Doubtless, once upon a time, they had the most fabulous wedding.