‘Be proud’, Sir Tom Courtenay tells Hull City before Wembley game

Aged 18, Sir Tom left Hull, where he was born and raised, to study at University College London, before enrolling at the nearby Royal Academy of Performing Arts.

Today he lives in Putney, south-west London, but insists he has never forgotten his home city, where he still has family, including his sister.

“I have never tried to pretend I am anything other than a Hull lad,” said Sir Tom.

He returned to East Yorkshire in 2014 for the filming of Dad’s Army in which he played Corporal Jones.

In 2018, he was given the Honorary Freedom of Hull.

Sir Tom said he will not be attending the Wembley match but will instead be watching the action on television.

He added the players “need to do it for themselves”, and said even if they do not secure promotion they will “still have done very, very well”.