Brian Cox has said that he doesn’t agree with the glamorisation of gangsters like his character in Sky 1’s ‘The Take.’

The 63-year-old actor plays Ozzy in the show which is based on Martina Cole’s best-selling book.

Brian told MSN: “This world of gangsters and hard men is interesting territory, but I don’t particularly like it as a culture, I find no glamour in these people.”

He added: “I don’t find guys like Ozzy admirable. I find them rather pathetic, actually.

“In Russia, they have a wonderful phrase about these sorts of men that goes, ‘Little mice who blow off their own tale and become elephants’ – which describes how they come to think they’re bigger than they are.

“These criminal characters are dramatically interesting, but only in terms of their idiocy.”

Brian told the story of when he performed as King Lear in high-security psychiatric prison Broadmoor.

He said: “Ronnie Kray was there then, and Peter Sutcliffe was there too. I asked the warden, ‘Will the Yorkshire Ripper be joining us this evening?’

“Life is like an extended fantasy world for these people. You think, ‘Why don’t you just get a job, do what everyone else does?’. It’s like a family business for a lot of serious criminals, and they’re locked into this mawkish sentimentality, and it’s despicable.”