He was the man who inspired one of the greatest British film characters of all time: the louche, bohemian wastrel Withnail from Withnail and I – always ready with a memorable line and always in search of his next drink.
And now the never-before-seen diaries of Vivian MacKerrell, a down and out actor who was housemates with the film’s writer Bruce Robinson, are up for auction at Sotheby’s, with an estimated selling price of up to £18,000. In it they document some of the real-life events that made it into the film, from visiting the wolves at London Zoo to drinking lighter fluid.
