John Hurt tackled the complexities of saving the universe in Doctor Who's 50th anniversary show - but he struggles even to turn his phone on in real life, according to a close pal.

Fellow actor Ian McShane, a friend since they shared a flat as Rada students, said he recently had to show the Time Lord actor how to switch on his mobile.

In an interview for Radio Times, Ian said: " Johnny came to me with his phone: "Have you any idea how to turn this bloody thing on?" You're on Twitter and Facebook and you can't work your mobile? "Yes, but my wife does it."

Ian - who stars with John in a new movie about Hercules - also bemoaned the rise of social networking and said he was not a fan.

"People tweet before they think and it becomes obsessive. Whenever there was a pause on the Hercules set, everybody whipped their Blackberries out of their skirts - 'are you texting the King of Thrace to tell them we're on our way?'," he grumbled.

Ian - known to TV viewers for his title role in BBC series Lovejoy, as well as for his role in wild west drama Deadwood, was dismissive of TV hit Downton Abbey.

"It's not my kind of show," he said. " I don't think it's well written. Upstairs Downstairs was better."

:: The new edition of Radio Times is on sale today.