Felicity Kendal has hit back at claims The Good Life showcased "toxic masculinity".

The actress defended the sitcom against a recent backlash from critics who claimed her on-screen husband was domineering.

"I think that sometimes these days, because the show has endured for so long and become part of the folklore, people look back on it mistakenly, and slightly narrow-mindedly," Felicity, 79, told The i Paper in an interview published on Tuesday.

In the sitcom, which ran from 1975 to 1978, Felicity and her late co-star Richard Briers played a London couple opting to try to live off the land after the husband's decision to quit his job in advertising.

"It wasn't a documentary, it was a comedy, and Tom did not drag Barbara along unwillingly," Felicity explained. "Barbara was positive, and practical, and totally in love with her partner. Yes, she got p**sed off on occasion, but she loved Tom. I loved Tom."

Elsewhere, Felicity described the "thrilling" moment Queen Elizabeth II, a huge fan of The Good Life, attended a live taping of the show.

"Oh, it was a thrilling experience," she recalled. "We were worried about what we would do if something went wrong during the recording."

Typically, she said, she and her co-stars would use bad language if they had a slip-up on set.

"We tended to swear a bit, but I don't think any of us wanted to swear in front of the Queen," she joked.