I just love working, what else would I be doing at 86?

ACTOR RICKY SHARES NEW BOOK WITH CHILDREN

- By RYAN PATON

RICKY Tomlinson may have turned 86, but he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

The Royle Family legend has enjoyed a busier year than ever as he recently reprised his role as Bobby Grant for the Brookside one-off return and continues to tour around the UK and Ireland with his collaborator Asa Murphy.

However, he still remains as determined as ever as he told the ECHO in an exclusive interview: “I love working. I’d go anywhere at the drop of the hat because I love it.

“What else would I be doing at 86? I'd be sitting in the house or in nursing home.” He laughed: “I think [his wife] Rita’s trying to get me into one.”

But Ricky harbours no intentions of retirement as he wants to continue entertaining people and representing his beloved home city for as long as he can.

He said: “I love Liverpool. I won’t hear a bad word. The only time I ever lose my temper is if I hear people slagging Liverpool off. I say, ‘I don’t know what you're talking about. You've never been there, you don’t know who the people are.”