English actor Charles Dance has said his marriage to Joanna Haythorn ended after he “succumbed to some temptations”.

The 77-year-old Game of Thrones actor married Haythorn in 1970 and the couple had two children together before divorcing in 2004.

Speaking to Gyles Brandreth on the Rosebud podcast, he said: “For the most part it was a wonderful marriage, but then unfortunately as time went on I succumbed to some temptations and the marriage basically fell apart because of my behaviour.”

“At some point I had to come clean,” he added.

“We lived in Somerset, in this huge place, and Jo had her study at one end and I had mine at the other, and after a while we really became a bit like George and Martha (in the play) Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.”

“At some point I came back and thought, ‘We really need to have a very serious conversation.’

“And I had to come clean, and for Jo, God bless her, it was a shock.”

The “The Crown” actor said of his behavior: “I don’t want to give the impression that I’m looking for excuses.”

He added: “I never considered myself attractive. I really didn’t…

“It wasn’t until years later when I made (the TV series) The Jewel In The Crown that people started talking about me as ‘the thinking woman’s little treasure’.

“I was always very grateful when girls acted like they were attracted to me.

“But there is no justification for this, you know.

“In our business, Gyles, one is often faced with temptations, and one must be quite composed and balanced and not have a particularly strong libido in order not to succumb to them.

“So the marriage ended – I deeply regret it.

“But fortunately after about 18 months, Jo and I became best friends and, thank God, we still are.

“She had an apartment not far from where I lived and we saw each other quite often, so in the end everything worked out quite well.”

When asked if he would do anything differently today, he said: “Of course. My goodness, you only know in hindsight.”

“It took me a long time to learn the law of cause and effect.”