The Love Actually star admits he "became a legend of bad driving" due to the amount of car scrapes he got himself into when he was a youngster.

Nighy had to drive a motorcycle for the first time in his latest movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, but he became apprehensive when he was told he'd have to ride with veteran actress Dench on the back of the bike.

He tells Britain's The Independent Magazine, "I became a legend of bad driving (growing up). I could never pay attention for long enough. I used to drift into the back of people.

"My father gave me a lovely car to congratulate me when I passed my test, a Ford Prefect that he'd driven for years without incident. Within weeks, I got the bumper stuck in a chain-link fence and took half the back of the car off as I pulled away...

"I protected Dame Judi from this information before shooting the motorcycle scene, but I would wake up every morning dreading it. If you kill Judi Dench, you can't go home. You could accidentally kill the Queen and sneak back into the country, probably. But kill Judi Dench and you'd be overseas for the rest of your natural life."