Kiefer Sutherland will always be synonymous with the hit TV thriller 24, but that doesn't mean he watches his own show. The actor admitted to Jonathan Ross that, while he knows what happens (duh) he's not about to watch himself on screen - not since Stand By Me.

Kiefer Sutherland 24Kiefer Sutherland Has Never Watched an Episode of '24'

"I haven't watched an episode of 24, no. But I know how it goes, I have read the script," he explained to the chat show host in an episode that comes out tomorrow (Sat 7) via The Mirror. It's not since Stand By Me that Sutherland has peered at himself on screen, and the experience of that has made him vow to never, ever do it again.

"I was standing there, we watched the movie and everything I thought I wanted to do, I hadn't done at all," he said. "All I saw was myself up there and I was mortified and my girlfriend was saying, 'I thought it was really great.' I said, 'Don't patronise me. "I need to get another job. If I don't get another job and this comes out I'm dead and my career is over.'"

Of course, Sutherland's career wasn't over, and when the role of Jack Bauer came along, he came into his own. The frenetic, 1-hour format of each episode has audiences hooked for all 8 seasons. The success has lead to a further 9th season, although instead of shooting the eponymous 24 episodes, this season will only feature 12.

"I have to kind of skip, hop before I can start to run, just so I don't snap a tendon," Sutherland quipped. "It's a terrorist threat. There are a couple of other changes," he added. "I can't go into it at length but some of the characters that are more familiar to the audience that are coming back, their relationships in these last four years have dynamically changed as well, so it will be very fresh because it feels very fresh to do it right now.