'Off the Rails' presenter Pamela Flood on her childhood chocolate factory hero

GENE WILDER is an actor who has entertained and fascinated me. I discovered him as a child at Christmas when I first saw Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I was utterly captivated by his depiction of Willy Wonka, the owner of the chocolate factory and in fact, I think I still am. It is one of my all-time favourite films because I just switch it on and I can escape. I love how the film marries fantasy with morality; the good little boy wins out in the end and all the bold, spoilt children get their just rewards. In particular, I enjoy how Violet Beauregarde meets her grizzly end courtesy of a gobstopper, "You're turning Violet, Violet".

I think he is a fantastic actor and even as an adult watching the film now I can see that he really was wonderfully cast. I think it has been his best role.

As a child, I would watch his films over and over again. Young Frankenstein is another of my favourites. He plays a young neurosurgeon who inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback called Igor, a pretty lab assistant named Inga and the old housekeeper, frau Blucher. He gets involved in lots of madcap pursuits involving reanimation experiments. The whole film is shot in black and white to simulate the old monster movie feeling.

He was born Jerome Silberman but decided to change his name when he became an actor. I read in his autobiography that he picked the name 'Gene Wilder' because he couldn't see a 'Jerry Silberman' playing Hamlet and he admitted that despite the change, he can't see 'Gene Wilder' playing Hamlet either.

Gene Wilder belongs to the old school of actors who trained as all-round performers. Not only is he a fantastic actor but he can sing and dance, and his diverse career reflects his broad range of talents.

He started out on the stage and received numerous accolades for his acting abilities before he made a breakthrough into movies and television.

He got his first big break in the early 1960s, playing a small role in the offBroadway production of Arnold Wesker's Roots which was promptly followed by his Broadway debut as the comic valet in The Complaisant Lover. But his career really took off when he played alongside Anne Bancroft in Mother Courage and Her Children. She was dating Mel Brooks at the time and the two men really hit it off and Wilder soon became a member of Brooks's 'Company'. He starred in Brooks's directorial debut, The Producers and Blazing Saddles.

He has always struck me as an actor who is not afraid to look silly or ridiculous which makes him even more endearing to an audience. There is a wholesome quality to his performances and his entire career, despite the current trend for violence in films, he has never strayed into the realm of action movies or blood-soaked thrillers.

His comedy might be described as leaning towards slap-stick, which is becoming increasingly rare in this day and age.

Like many Hollywood stars, he has been married a number of times although he Grarely discusses his private life and he seems to avoid the limelight entirely. Apart from his autobiography, he has never revealed details of his life outside filmmaking apart from the period following the death of his third wife Gilda Radner. She died of ovarian cancer and Wilder established a foundation called Gilda's Club to promote awareness of the disease.

I suppose he is an unusual choice for a 'hero' as such and especially for me because I am not an actor; however, I think his ability to inspire people stretches further than his peers and those who hope to follow in his footsteps. He is a talented and hard-working individual who made it in Hollywood the old-fashioned way. He got a lucky break and he made the most of it. I don't think he has movie-star good looks but he is a wonderful actor and a fabulous comedian. He seems to be a down-to-earth, reasonable person and if there is someone I would like to meet then it is him.

Gene Wilder has entertained me as a child and as an adult. I think that is a wonderful quality and something which is becoming increasingly rare in a world of computer games and digitallyenhanced films.