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We caught
up with him after he wolfed down a sandwich in between rehearsals.
I
remarked that I saw him presenting on UK Gold's Sex and the Sitcom
series where he sports a lurvely dressing gown while snogging a
TV set in bed.
"Yes
it was a lovely dressing gown" he laughed, "it wasn't mine but I managed
to steal the pyjamas and the slippers!"
Sexy
bed scenes aside, the 24-year-old will be in the starring role in
Billy Liar, which opens in the Windsor Theatre Royal in June before
heading off to the West End.
So what
makes Billy Liar tick?
"He
lies a bit, he looks a bit like me" he replies with his soft Manc
accent.
"It's
a story about a lad who feels trapped. It's set in 1959, and particularly
in the north your life was mapped out for you, you're packed off
to do an apprenticeship or join the family business - it was so
different to what it is now, it's a real can-do world for us, but
back then if you had other plans it was really frowned upon.
"Billy
just feels like there's more to life and that he's oppressed. And
it's because of this that he becomes this compulsive liar and he lives
in this crazy parallel world, he's actually invented this country
and he visits this other country in his head when things aren't going
well for him."
It's
supposed to be a comedy though isn't it?
"Actually,
the director on the first day, she sat us down and said that a lot
of people refer to this as a comedy but effectively she wants this
to be a tragedy. The definition of tragedy is a lead character who
has a character flaw that leads to his downfall. And that's Billy.
If we make it just a farce for two and a half hours then it's just
f***ing boring."
Obviously
we all know Ralf from The Royle Family and Two Pints of Lager and
a Packet of Crisps, oh, and the odd sex scene with a telly, but he's
less well known for his stage appearances. So why start now?
"Theatre
is the basis of acting" he explains, " it's just you and
the audience and you have to make them believe in what you're doing.
It's the rawness of theatre, of how it all began in the first place.
Obviously it's also good for my career, the key to a good career is
diversity."
They're
halfway through the rehearsals but let's hope Ralf doesn't get any
sporting injuries during the Soccer Six tournament.
The
charity event comes to the Madejski Stadium in Reading on Sunday
23rd May following a game at Leeds on the 16th May and an already
played game at Everton.
Raising
money for the Prince's Trust, the aim is to have thousands of fans
coming to see their fave celeb trying to score goals using their dazzling
soccer skills.
Football
mad and Man United-supporting Ralf beams: "I won last week with the
Darkness and Harvey! Me and Harvey both being semi-pros are doing
Everton, Leeds and Reading and are hoping for the clean sweep!"
He'll
be playing in the Radio 1 team along with Ian Wright and various as-yet-unconfirmed
Radio 1 DJs.
Other
teams confirmed so far include the cast of Eastenders, Bryan McFadden,
Starsailor, Liberty X, the Blazin Squad, Snow Patrol, Harvey, Goldie
Lookin Chain and Mis-Teeq.
Soccer
Six info
Billy
Liar info and win tix
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