He played Dr Darcy Tyler the mixed-up medic who had a tangled love life and serious financial problems, and ended up in a coma.

'He was misunderstood,' laughs Mark. 'He had many shades.'
'He kept me on my toes: I never knew what was going to happen next, there was never a boring storyline. He was cowardly, villainous, a bit screwed up ... but he had comedic elements. He was funny despite himself. He was a gift and I had a ball.'

After nearly five years in the Aussie soap (he left and returned twice between 2000 and 2005) Mark says he's still willing to return if asked. But surely there can't be many storylines he hasn't tackled?

'A gay kiss,' he smiles, but he's serious. 'I suggested it. I thought it would be interesting - the doc could pretend to be gay for some scam involving money. But the producers said they weren't interested. Then three months after I left they had a lesbian story with two girls kissing. I can't think why, but somehow they thought that was more appealing!'

Mark's next job was in panto in England - he played King Rat in Dick Whittington at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, and says he enjoyed it so much he's appeared in four more pantos since, including this month's Snow White, also at the Kings.

'Panto is a joy to do. It's a fantastic, thrilling experience.
'It's diametrically opposed to film and TV work - where you have a proxy audience. With a camera you have to pretend it's not there, with a panto audience it's the complete opposite - participation is all.'

We don't have panto in Australia, so I had no idea what to expect. Although we're obviously very Anglicised and people do know the catchphrases like 'it's behind you!', we just don't do panto for some reason. I wish we would. Maybe I'll export it.'

In stark contrast, Mark has recently finished working on a short film about mental illness, this time on the other side of the camera.
'I've written and directed one of a series of films for the Australian mental health board. I'm very passionate about the subject because I had a friend who suffered from schizophrenia. Not only did he have to cope with his illness but he had to deal with people's attitudes to it as well. Mental illness affects one in five people but it's still a taboo subject. I think one of the best ways to hook people in, to really raise awareness, is via the medium of film.

'Creating this film was part of a very big project and I really researched it thoroughly. I worked closely with people in the know who authenticated it. I'm very proud of the result.'

Mark hopes his next project will be directing a TV drama.
'I can't say anything about it at the moment. It's definitely an ambition of mine to direct more, but I won't give up acting. I like to have diversity in my work and I've been very lucky so far.'

*Mark Raffety is playing the Prince in Snow White at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, until Januray 6. Tickets from (023) 9282 8282 or online at www.kings-southsea.com