Ben Richards on…
Touring
“Guys and Dolls is going fantastically. We have had a really great time so far. It kicked off in Glasgow. The houses were brilliant and we had two lovely reviews. It is a great company and I am really proud to be in it.”
Auditions
“I had seen Ewan Mcgregor in a version of the play and loved it. I was working with Stacey Haynes in Strictly Dance Fever. She is very high up in Live Nation who are one of the producers. She told me they were looking to kick the tour off and asked me if I would like to audition. I thought, why not? It’s a great role. The timing was good. I get on so well with the rest of the cast.”
Teamwork
“Clare Sweeney is lovely. She is very down to earth. A good Liverpudlian girl. She is great to work with”
Football fans
“The first TV serial I did was Footballer’s Wives and I was absolutely petrified.
I had to start thinking about lots of things like focusing on the right part of someone’s face for the shot. You have to deal with a lot of truthful things and give the best performance. It took me a while to warm up. I remember seeing my first performance. I thought it was OK but then it got better and better. Then I moved on to Holby City where everything was a lot faster paced. The set-ups and pace were a lot quicker.”
The shock factor
“Footballer’s Wives is quite outrageous. I just wanted to get a really good TV role. When I looked at Bruno Milligan I thought he was a fantastic character that I could really do something with. Luckily they took a punt on a theatre actor and it worked. I think my character was very popular.”
Casting
“The whole cast was lovely. It was real teamwork. Gillian Taylforth is one of the nicest people in the business and I can say that without reserve. She is fantastic and down to earth. Everyone got on so well.”
Acting in America
“I am hoping to do some work in America soon. I have got myself a manager and an agent. I went out there for meetings and to sort out a manager and things are looking really positive. Footballer’s Wives is out there now anyway. It is doing well on BBC America.”
Dance fever
“My judging on Strictly Dance Fever really came about through Arlene Phillips. She had been my director and choreographer in the past.”
Judging
“Me and Arlene would have a disagreement and she would turn to me and say, ‘that was fun, wasn’t it?’ It is never personal. We were all opinionated and passionate about the show and the dancers. They really wanted it badly. That is very infectious. We knew that our opinions were about the show and not us personally. So despite what people might think all the judges got on really well with eachother. Of course, we had our disagreements. When they happened you saw them happen. When it was cut that was that.”
Reality TV
“I don’t really like reality TV. I don’t see the point in people doing reality TV just to raise their profile. Strictly Come Dancing is different from reality TV shows. We now have two dancers out there who are working professionally. A good percentage of the money was going to a charity but I don’t see the point in reality TV prizes if the money is not going anywhere decent. A lot of reality is pointless. The money used to make the shows would be better spent on making decent dramas, for which we are world-renouned. How much do certain shows based out in Caribbean Islands cost when we could do two dramas for that?”
Training
“I trained in Lane and my classical drama came later in the Acting Centre. I used to dance in a local stage school from a young age.”
Starting young
“I remember starting a lad up when he was 13/14. Now he has done numerous West End shows. He has just come back from Germany doing We Will Rock You. He started quite young but not as young as a lot of kids. I don’t think it matters when you start as long as you have the talent for it and the passion.”
The best bits
“I have had a very diverse career but I love all aspects of it. Each thing I do is very different but I love everything equally. It’s like saying do you prefer a fillet steak or a chocolate desert? You like them both for equal reasons. On camera, when it goes action and you are trying to create something magic that is very truthful, it is wonderful. You know that that is going to be broadcast to an awful lot of people and that is exciting. But then when you are in a live studio you have to think on your feet. That is another type of adrenaline. When you go out on stage you experience something else. I am very luckily to be involved with three different types of performance.”
Private
“It is hard to juggle my career with my private life but I have a very very understanding wife. I have little free time. When I do have free time I spend it in the gym. But my wife is completely understanding and I really appreciate that.”
Around the house
“I am no good at cooking. I’m rubbish. I like going out for food and my wife is a great cook too. I give her a lot of requests. I have quite a strict regime on food. Well, I say that, chocolates and crisps are my weakness. I tend to eat a lot of salads, chicken and fish too. I eat an awful lot so I try and eat a lot of good stuff as opposed to a lot of rubbish.”
The weekly shop
“When it comes to food shopping, Marks and Spencer is great when I can afford it. But on the whole I go to Tescos.”
The million pounds question
If I won a million pounds the first thing I’d do is pay off my mortgage. It’s very boring but I would love to be able to do that. I would probably look at upgrading. I would go on a nice holiday as well. Preferably to Turks and Caicos, to a place called Parrot Key. I can’t afford it yet but I would be straight there if I had the money.”
