Charles Dance's girlfriend swears at him for being "pompous"

He told The Times newspaper: "When I get pompous, which I tend to do from time to time, I tell her: 'Just tell me to f*** off.'

"She comes out: 'F*** off!' Wonderful! But not very often, thankfully."

The actor acknowledges that Alessandra is "very good" at her work, and he observed that she's a "tough cookie", too.

The 'Game of Thrones' star said: "We just got on well and she's very good at her job. She's either a line producer or a production manager.

"It's difficult. It's a difficult job if you're a woman and it's doubly difficult if you're a woman in Italy because Italian men don't like being told what to do by women, you know. But she's a tough cookie."

Charles was married to his ex-wife Joanna Haythorn for 32 years from 1970, and he's admitted that he allowed the "attention" from fans to change him.

Despite this, Charles and Joanna ultimately became the "best of friends" following their separation.

The actor explained: "We divorced after 32 years but after the first 18 months, which were not great, thankfully we ended up the best of friends.

"But all that attention, yes, it did go to my head a bit. Not for a while, actually, and it must have been very difficult for Jo. Difficult for anybody in the public eye because they then get attention as well, you know?

"The kids get scrutinised, the wife gets looked at. That's not what they bargained for."