Picture of 44-year-old actor has left people asking questions

A picture of a 44-year-old actor has left people asking some serious questions about their age.

Rather than accepting the glistening grey hair and wrinkles that come with getting older, we often find ourselves trying to live up to a version of ourselves from the past.

But one thing you probably haven't taken into account - until now - is how people used to look 'back in the day'.

Fans have been left in disbelief after an image of the late great British actor John Thaw - famed for his role as Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse in ITV's Inspector Morse - has gone viral on social media.

The show, which aired from 1987 to 2000, consisted of 33 two-hour-long episodes with each episode having a new murder investigation.

Now, the image in question was posted by a X (Twitter) user who pointed out how old Thaw was when the photo was taken.

X/ITV

"Watching the first episode of Inspector Morse. John Thaw is 44 here, the age I turn this year," they wrote alongside of screenshot of Thaw on the show.

This prompted a series of responses from people who were in disbelief at 'how old' they thought Thaw looked, in comparison to how old he actually was.

"Only two years older than Shaun Evans when he last played Morse in Endeavour, set 15 years earlier than this episode," one viewer commented.

"Thaw always looked old for his age - Regan looks about 50 in the first series of The Sweeney."

"Whenever people point out a guy from the 70s/80s looking older than his years, I think it comes down to hair - either white hair or balding," another suggested.

ITV

"It's more common now for men on TV to dye it, or just shave it all off."

"Hmm maybe all the guys on dating apps aren't actually lying about their age..." a third person quipped.

"If anything, he looked even older in The Sweeney! The Benjamin Button of TV detectives," someone else joked.

It does stand to reason though that people might have aged 'worse' in the past, when sun cream, cosmetic surgery and not smoking were less popular.

Indeed, a better understanding of nutrition and medical advancements have helped to increase the average life expectancy, so it would make sense if people looked better for their age comparatively.