You aren’t supposed to speak with the driver while the bus is in motion, but I don’t think Alex ‘Wookie’ Turner would mind if you did.

He’ll encourage you to ring the bell as much as you want, as long as you’re a kid.

If you can play a tune, that’s even better. Maybe don’t try it on somebody else’s bus.

You might recognise Wookie from the recent Plymouth Citybus TV advert, he’s the leading man.

Despite those acting credentials, and what your eyes might tell you, he’s not Aquaman star Jason Momoa.

He’s been called ‘diet Momoa’ in the past. Also Captain Jack Sparrow and Jesus.

In reality, he drives the numbers eight and nine out to Efford, as well as the 23 and 24 to Mount Gould.

Sure, maybe he isn’t that Hollywood heartthrob, but he’ll still put on a performance for you.

Wookie’s had the Citybus gig for nearly 10 years and spent two years before that driving with First. The 39-year-old father-of-four never planned on being a bus driver.

Previously, he was a support worker, and still catches up with old clients when they hop aboard. In his free time, he trades the wheels on the bus for the two wheels of a motorbike.

Even though he’s originally from Swansea, nobody knows Efford better than Wookie.

He used to live on his Efford route, and would park the bus outside his house to use the toilet. Genius.

The nickname is of course a Star Wars reference and no, he’s not a fan of the films.

It was given to him when he was a pupil at Lipson Community College because of his hair, which wasn’t as long as it is now.

That’s also where he met his wife, Rebecca. The pair were on a drama programme together as teenagers. I told you, he’s a performer, always laughing and joking with passengers.

There hasn’t been much to laugh about these past few months, so all jokes aside, a serious question had to be asked.

He said: “The thing is, when you see the same faces, you end up doing your own customized version.

“You can do salutes, wave like the Queen, or you can over-exaggerate it.

“We’ve also got a secret code. You pretend to drink a coffee. That means you’re on your break trip.

“You put one finger up, which means one more trip. Or two, for two more trips. That can be misinterpreted sometimes.

“Then there’s the ‘finger across the throat’ which doesn’t mean you’re going to kill the other driver. It means I’m about to finish, it’s just to rub it in their faces.”

He’s spent more time on the Plymouth roads than a lot of native Janners, and has seen our city change over the last decade.

Day by day, brick by brick, that’s what you get to witness when you travel the same route several times daily.

He said: “Everyone moans about Plymouth but I like it. The history of Plymouth is fantastic if you can be bothered to dig it up and learn about it.

“I love going for a run in the morning, around the Barbican and Saltram. It’s a cracking little city.

“Granted, the city centre is a bit dated.

“And as much as some people might hate the Messenger statue, there are those who appreciate the idea of change this city needs.

“Things like the mall, the Barcode and The Box, all these weird things, people don’t like the idea of change.

“Like when their route changes on the bus.”

If you do start to moan, he’ll threaten to turn the bus around and take you home.

Just because he’s always in good spirits, it doesn’t mean Wookie hasn’t seen some bad happenings.

He said: “One of my colleagues was working a late shift and there was an intoxicated bloke on her platform.

“He was just stood there staring at her, and it freaked her out. She hit the panic alarm and I thought she’d hit it accidentally.

“Some drivers do, then we all have a laugh at them, but she had genuinely hit it.

“I went down to deal with the situation and managed to get him to leave.

“Another time, I’ve had a gentleman get knocked out on the bus.

“The funny thing is, he was more upset about the fact he wasn’t fast enough to stop it.

“He was late 50s and hoped he could still do it. He was probably gutted that he couldn’t. Age catches up with all of us.

“And of course, I’ve had a few near misses with people who completely don’t know how to drive.”

With testing situations like those, what’s the key to keeping a smile on your face?

He said: “I’ve always been an attention seeker, I constantly hear my wife rolling her eyes behind me. She puts up with a lot. I’m lucky to have her.

“I had a bus turn up an hour late once, I was waiting to drive it. I had to run it because we were behind. I was my normal, chirpy self.

“By the time the passengers got off, one of them told me it was the best bus ride they’d ever had, they’d forgotten it was late.

“Sometimes being positive is better than being professional. Don’t talk to passengers? Where’s the fun in that?

“I’m one of those really annoying positive people. It’s like the glass half full analogy. Well, the glass is always full.

“It’s half full of your liquid, whether that’s gin, vodka or whatever. It’s half full of air, oxygen, and you need that too.

“I was doing the service 42, driving around in a double-decker. They don’t normally let me play around with the big toys.

“I have fun with them, I use the speaker and say, ‘ladies and gentlemen, just to let you know I’m used to driving single-deckers. If you do see a low bridge, you might want to come downstairs.’

“It’s just silly jokes like that. The little old dears who insist on walking down the aisle while the bus is in motion.

“They’ll grab on for support and I’ll ask them to stop dancing on the poles.”

There is this notion that bus drivers are grumpy. It’s clear that Wookie isn’t one of those.

Maybe, like any walk of life, some people are happier than others. But where does Wookie this this reputation comes from?

He said: “I don’t know. I’ve heard it’s a stopgap job. You come out of the Marines or something and because you can drive big vehicles, you do this for a few months.

“Then 25 years later, you’re still doing it. If the job’s that bad, why are you still doing it?

“I think it’s a combination of having the tolerance for driving and the tolerance for dealing with the public, who sometimes ask the most ridiculous questions.

“Like, ‘what happened to the two buses in front?’ I don’t know. I’m driving this one.”

If you do take the trip to Efford or Mount Gould, expect to be wished a merry Christmas all year round by Wookie, and have your spirits lifted.

But don’t take it to heart if not all drivers are as jolly.

He continued: “I like interacting with the customers. I know one colleague who will stare straight ahead when people are getting off the bus.

“He will not talk to anyone. But they’re not just bus drivers, they’re people too, they’ve got their own stuff going on and you can’t take that personally.

“That’s the only thing I want people to realise. We are people, we have lives, we have families and our own problems.

“We are not just there to eat, sleep and breathe buses. We don’t know where the other bus is, if we do, it’s a miracle.

“Me and my colleagues are doing our jobs just as hard as the police, office workers, Aldi staff, nurses. Albeit, different.

“We all deal with it differently, but we’re all going through this incredibly tough time.

“People are getting on the bus in 2020, with 2019 expectations. They need to understand, the give and take is more difficult than it used to be.