Henry Winkler is best known for playing the super-cool Fonz in Happy Days, but in recent years he has also perfected the art of being super-bad as Captain Hook in panto.

He has starred as the curly-wigged menace on four previous occasions and now he is reprising the role in Richmond Theatre’s festive extravaganza - a venue he is relishing the opportunity to perform at.

“I’ve been in Peter Pan in Wimbledon, Woking, Milton Keynes and Liverpool, and now beautiful Richmond,” he says.

“Everyone talks about how historic the theatre in Richmond is, and you can really feel places like that in your bones and really feel the atmosphere.

“I always think the walls in a place that has been around for so long absorb the energy of the performances that have gone before you.”

Although Winkler, 68, is primarily known for his TV work – as well as Happy Days, he has also made regular appearances in a range of TV shows including the magnificent US comedies, Parks and Recreation and Arrested Development – he says he loves the immediacy of live theatre and particularly the opportunity panto gives him to interact with audiences.

“When I was first asked to do Peter Pan people told me there was no way to describe it, that you just have to experience it, and I think I took to it like a duck to water,” he explains.

“I love being on stage because it is so immediate and it’s when the crowd boo, I can walk to the lip of the stage and just say whatever is on my mind.

“If you are able to relax on stage you can literally feel where your audience is.

“You can feel them sitting back on their seats and saying ‘Show me’, or them leaning forward and being right with you from the start. That energy speaks to you in volumes.”

Winkler calls playing Captain Hook “a great diet plan”, due to the energy he has to expel playing the part.

“From the time I start as Captain Hook to the time I go home I have to pull my belt three notches tighter.

“I wear so much velvet and run around, sword fighting and carry on in such a way that I perspire the pounds away.”

Although Winkler clearly loves panto and the opportunity it gives him to display his talents for comedy, there is also a serious side to this friendly star. He is dyslexic and struggled to deal with his learning difficulties during his childhood.

Winkler has made it part of his life’s work to help youngsters with similar problems, releasing a series of books starring a dyslexic hero Hank Zipzer, which he will sign copies of in the Richmond Waterstone’s for an hour on Saturday, November 30, at 4.30pm.

Peter Pan; Richmond Theatre; December 6 to January 12; 1.30pm to 7pm; £11.90 to £40.40; atgtickets.com.