Sir Ian McKellen: I'm too selfish to have been a father

Actor Sir Ian McKellen has said he is "too selfish" to have considered fatherhood, as he reflected being the last in line to carry his name.

The Lord of the Rings star, 77, who explored his family history on the BBC programme Who Do You Think You Are?, said he does not regret not having children to continue the McKellen name.

He said: "I don't feel anything about it, really.

"I think I've always known I wasn't going to have children, because I'm gay. That wouldn't have been true today, would it?"

"I don't feel I've got a responsibility to produce another McKellen. They might all be girls, then they'd all get married," he added.

He added that he was "glad" he remained childless.

Sir Ian said appearing on the BBC documentary was "entirely positive", adding: "All the people that we meet were people I was interested in learning more about them, and I thought on the whole they had very interesting, worthwhile lives."

The veteran actor and LGBT rights campaigner said all his newly-discovered relatives had "social awareness".

He said: "They're not neurotically bound up with their own lives, they're all - whether they're actor, singer, social reformer, painter - they're all outgoing.

"They're in the society and are part of it and try and change it. If that is a family trait, I confirm that in my own life."

Who Do You Think You Are? with Sir Ian McKellen is on BBC One on Wednesday.