Wow.  I am in awe today of thirteen young acrobats.  I was privileged to be the presenter of the Best of British event at York Designer Outlet today where we had Britain's Got Talent winners Spelbound performing live on stage.  Their performances were simply stunning, they work so ridiculously hard to get physically fit enough to perform some wonderful acrobatics.  Their 2 performances today in front of great crowds quite simply took your breath away.  Considering it was an outdoor stage (they have never performed outdoors before and weren't expecting to today!) and quite a windy day they went about setting up their mats and warming up in such a chipper way.  I can't even fault them as people, they were all lovely and talkative, signing loads of pictures and spending plenty of time chatting with their fans.  They made my life as presenter really easy, too.  I really can't speak highly enough of that wonderful troupe - plus Sally and Neil their helpers/chaperones/coach/friends!

        

So I've just finished 2 days of filming at Media:city for the new series of LighterLife commercials.  I have to be honest, I'd never heard of LighterLife before I went to the casting but having now met 12 people who have done the course and lost phenomenal amounts of weight (8 stone in some cases!) I reckon it must be a really good dieting package.

We had 140 extras in our audience and a massive crew in the same sound stage in which I filmed the Ronseal advert back in March.  Filming a weight loss advert in a studio called The Pie Factory was, I thought, quite ironic!  Anyway, the director, Julian Kronfli, was calmness personified and had a clear view as to what he wanted to achieve (which always helps, amazing how some directors just seem to wing it!).  Every single crew, cast and creative was lovely (again, not usually the case) and there was such a nice vibe.  My 12 models were all 'real' people and therefore a bit bewildered at times by the filming process.  They were all very keen to make it a success, however, and gave  brilliant performances.  My 11 ladies and 1 man strutted, posed, smiled and vox popped their socks off, and I have a huge amount of respect for them all! 

The adverts will be transmitted in the UK for one year from the 6th September.  They will also be online on the LighterLife website along with a Behind the Scenes mini-documentary and a series of stills. 

I had a fabulous time yesterday in the grand old city of Dublin!  I flew out for the day to film an infomercial for AXA.  After an initial delay at Manchester Airport of an hour (thanks RyanAir!) I arrived in the Irish capital around 9:45am.  My driver took me on a mini guided tour of the city on the way to the studios, making sure he took me past all of the cathedrals (ie. Croke Park, Lansdowne Road (NOT the Aviva - damn them!) and the RDS).  The studio was on an estate in a quiet setting on the outskirts of Dublin.  We were all to film on green screen (were it in Wales it would've been red screen, Scotland blue screen etc) and the other actors were already there.  I met another actor with my agency, Mark Jardine, who was playing the main role, who I had not seen since panto costume fittings at the Lowry in 2005!  Anyway, the crew and clients were all great and there was a nice, relaxed atmosphere.  It's so much easier to get stuff done when everyone is calm, focused and jovial - rare to find a shoot where all these are in place!  Anyway, we finished filming ahead of schedule and that gave me around 5½ hours to kill in Dublin.  As I've already done the touristy type stuff in the city centre and we didn't want to get stuck in rush hour traffic, we all decided to go to a small town called Swords out near the airport.  The ladies went off shopping and Russell Richardson and I went to sample some of the local Guinness (when in Rome etc).  We started in the very traditional pub, The Pound.  It was rammed full of blokes all laughing and joking, a real locals pub but one they made us feel welcome in.  Then, on recommendation of the make up lady, we went to eat in Wrights and ended up in a pub/restaurant called The Old Boro.  Guinness certainly does taste differently over there!  A quick taxi ride to the airport later and I was heading for home.  All in all a great day - good job, great people, wonderful part of the world.

The infomercial "Secure Advantage Protected Capital Plan from AXA Life Europe" will be on AXA's website soon.  A link will be posted when it is up.

Chris giving his interpretation of (imaginatively titled) Actor 5

Had a lovely gig tonight in the idyllic little village of Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.  It all took place at Cutts of Campden, a Ford dealership, in the early twilight of a balmy summer's evening.  There were about 200 guests invited and they were treated to a smörgåsbord of entertainment, canapés and Champagne.  I was hired to be my Tennis Player living statue alongside a magician, a Rod Stewart Tribute and a trio of feathered showgirls!  What a mixture!  Met some lovely people and got to have a giggle with some of the guests after I had finished (and done my best to de-silver in a tiny sink!).  I love my job sometimes!
(P.S. There were some beautiful cars there, too - my favourite is below!)

      

I've had an amazing weekend in Lommel, Belgium.  It was lovely to see a load of old faces plus make some new friends from around the world.  I was working at the Beeldig Festival in the town centre, an annual event full of living statues, performance art and street theatre.  On the back of my success in Holland last year I took my James Bond costume along.  As I had a lot of trouble getting the gun and 12v battery (to power the gun) on the plane last year I decided that I would travel by train and got myself a ticket on the Eurostar.  I'm a bit of a geek but I simply could not wait to ride on it for the first time.  I got to meet up with my friends Ed Johnson and Kate Laurisden from The Living Statue Company at St Pancras so I had good company from there on.  Both the journey there and back were great, as were the trains to and from Stockport and London.  However, the 2 trains from Brussels to Lommel and then back again were a nightmare!  We had delays, cancellations and a language barrier to contend with - never again!  Fortunately Ed and Kate were in good humour so we were able to bounce off of each other and laugh at our situation - even if we did find one of Antwerp's least appealing bars to kill some time in!  Anyway, after eventually arriving 10 and a half hours after I had left home, I was able to meet up with all my Dutch friends from Beeldje on Friday night.  We had a good catch up before an 'early' night ready to work the following day. 

Over the two days the festival attracted 45,000 people, a new record for them.  I'd like to think a lot of the visitors came because of me but I don't think that is particularly true!  I met statues from Argentina, musical acts from Italy and loads of others from Spain, France, Belgium, New Zealand, Cuba and Greece.  Such a friendly bunch of performers.  It was sad saying goodbye on the Sunday night to a lot of them. 

Monday was a 5am start (English time) and after an arduous journey I walked through my front door 11 hours later at 4pm.  I'd been spoilt rotten, tickled, hugged, applauded and given copious amounts of free beer at a business party that we snuck into on the Saturday night.  Apparently it was a good party.  At least that's what we reckon after we were able to piece the night together between us the following morning!

A big thanks to Pieter Neeskens from SUPCO Events and to all those I was with for Beeldig Lommel 2010!

A close up and posing with Afke Westdijk (Beeldje) and a young local girl

This weekend I worked at Bradford Mela with one of my best mates, Scott Clarke.  We were working for Q20 Theatre and basing ourselves in the Lord Mayor's Carnival Parade Tent.  Although we were there predominantly to entertain the punters at the Mela, it was linked in with next weeks Bradford Parade.  With this years theme being tigers, Q20 commissioned Huddersfield University students to come up with a pair of tiger costumes that performers could wear on jump stilts.  We weren't disappointed with the results!  With an almost 1970's pimp theme running alongside the brief Scott and I were decked out in tiger print livery from head to toe (well, rubber pad on bottom of stilt!).  The only downside from my point of view, was that 2 consecutive days on jump stilts is quite had going!  6 hours of bouncing isn't easy in anyone's book, but it has toned up my thighs and bum quite a bit!

I started my new job today as a news presenter on Redrow.tv, the multimedia website for the one of the UK's leading residential and mixed use property developers. We were filming in Preston at the head offices of Ainsworth & Parkinson, the marketing communications agency in charge of creating the pieces.  I had a fab crew to work with (David, Jade and Abi - Sandra was on holiday this week!) and we had a good giggle off camera.  All the dialogue was on autocue which was a blessing as I'd only gotten home from France the day before and I wouldn't have had time to learn it all!  Anyway, my pieces for Redrow Scotland will be online from the start of next week.

                           

 
Presenting in front of a blue screen

Spent yesterday sitting in the sun, playing cricket and eating fine foods from your friendly Co-operative/Somerfield store.  Or at least that's what this summer's TV advert will lead you to believe!  I was really good fun filming it although my skin certainly knows I spent 13 hours in the sun - SPF15 all round!  All the food looked stunning but we weren't allowed to touch any.  Curses!  I had a surrogate extended family for the day and I got to play cricket for hours (albeit on a remarkably shorter wicket than the regulatory 22 yards and we had to keep repeating the same shot over and over and over and over again!).  Taylor Murphy is playing the hero dad who just would not get out!  The ad should be on screens for two months from mid-June.

My wife for the day, Sue McCartney, and my kids Jamie and Jess.

Everyone playing cricket (left) and the delicious food being filmed.

On Monday night I went to see the musical Laughter in the Rain at the Opera House in Manchester.  It is about the life of Neil Sedaka and featured all (well, probably not quite all) of his songs.  My friend Kieran Brown is touring in it.  I quite enjoyed the show despite not really knowing anything about Sedaka and only having heard of 2 of the songs beforehand!  The lad playing Sedaka was excellent.  It was a huge role and he played it very well.  An added bonus of the night was the fact that Neil Sedaka was there in person.  Bill Kenwright (my old boss!) got up on stage at the end and made a speech before Neil joined him and sang a couple of songs.  The audience went nuts!  Afterwards I was invited into a small drinks reception and met the man himself (Sedaka, not Kenwright!).  Great fun.  If you get a chance to see the show, do.  If you like the music, you'll love it!

Link to Kieran Brown's website              Link to Laughter in the Rain website

I've had a fabulous weekend!  On Friday night my mum and grandma drove up from Leicester and then we all travelled up to Cumbria together for my cousin's wedding.  Miss Karen Moore has now become Mrs Karen Nattrass!  The wedding was in a church in Carlisle and then the reception etc was at The Crown Hotel in Wetheral.  I had a beautiful view from my room (see below) but, for obvious reasons, I didn't spend much time in there.  I spent a lot of time chatting with as many people as I could throughout the day.  I'd never met Jonny (the groom) or any of his family before.  To be honest I hadn't even met any of Karen's friends either so it was nice to be sociable!  I reckon I've made some great new friends - at least I hope so!  I was able to do a little bit of cheesy magic for them and make the odd balloon model, too, so that was nice.  My only regret is that I had to shoot off early on Sunday to go to work at Old Trafford, I'd have much preferred to go into the pool and gym!  Such a nice hotel!  A huge congratulations to Karen and Jonny and also to my uncle and auntie, Richard and Anne.

Had a nice day today on the set of Coronation Street filming an episode for later in the year.  Of course I'm contractually obliged not to talk about the storyline but I've been working with Graeme Hawley (John) and Becky Hindley (Charlotte).  Spent most of the day NOT eating a plate of food in front of me, partly because I wasn't supposed to and partly because it was hideous!  That's the trouble with filming dinner scenes, TV companies won't pay for nice, warm food when the point of it is to be seen and not devoured!  I was sat at a table with 3 lovely extras for most of the afternoon.  We did have a good giggle so the time went a lot more quickly than it probably should have done.  Below is a photo of me giving my big speech during filming.

I'm very pleased to announce that The Art of Doing Nothing in which I feature won Best Short Documentary at the London International Film Festival this weekend.  It was filmed at the World Statues Festival in Arnhem last August and it follows the progress of 3 different statues and their different views on statueing.  The film's director is an old school friend of mine, Richard Wyllie.  The film was shown in Chennai at the International Short Film Festival of India in April and it will feature in the 6th International Short Film Festival Detmold, Germany, in June.  Hopefully it will turn up at other Festivals and end up being aired on UK television.

            

On a whim on Sunday morning I decided to drive up to Newcastle.  It was a beautifully sunny day and Leicester were playing their last away game of the season (end of season play offs permitting) up at Kingston Park.  As I had to be in York on Monday morning and I could have a work meeting whilst I was up there I thought I'd treat myself.  So glad I did!  I left Manchester in a t-shirt pair of shorts and hit the M62 with intent.  When I got to my friends flat in North Shields I parked up, had a quick brew and had a long hard think about the weather. "It's a little bit grey but I'm sure it's not going to get any worse" I thought, "I'll stay in my shorts.  They've got loads of pockets in so I don't need a bag."  Done deal.  Jumped on the Metro and headed to the ground with a vengeance, a ground where we hadn't won since 2004.

One of the things I love about rugby is the good nature of the supporters.  There is never any segregation in the grounds or en route to the grounds.  I spent a lot of time chatting with Newcastle supporters on the Metro and on the 5 minute walk from the station.  Always love a bit of banter!  Anyway, the weather was taking a turn for the worse and it was now chucking it down with very strong winds, to boot.  Started to regret my short sleeved rugby shirt and having my legs out!  It was 6^oC without the windchill.  At this point I decided it was wise for my health to keep warm.  The most logical way was to wear a beer coat.  They sold two pint glasses of Guinness so with no hesitation (and thinking predominantly about my well-being) I purchased one.  Very glad I did. 

The match was ok for the first 34 minutes.  *Attention - brief bit of rugby talk coming up*  We scored 4 tries, secured the win and the bonus point and then took our foot off of the pedal.  The sad thing is that I don't think we actually played that well, Newcastle Falcons were just terrible.  Hope they don't get relegated (a real possibility this season) as it's one of my favourite away days!

So after another medicinal Guinness after the game and yet more banter with some Geordie fans I headed off home, bumping into our head coach, Richard Cockerill, on the way out.  I had a great meeting that evening with a couple of bosses of mine and then an early night ready for my audition in York the next day.  My only annoyance with the trip was the fact that I only decided to go up on the Sunday morning.  Had I planned it earlier then I could've met up with loads of other friends!

 
Me with 2 pints of Guinness and Cocky. I'll let you work out which is which.

Been filming all day today in Southport for a new BrightHouse ad.  Did two ads in total.  They were almost identical except one had a distinct Christmas theme!  Won't be seeing that on telly for a good few months then!  Worked with some lovely actors today and also with the same camera team as last week in the Ronseal commercial!  Anyhow, the advert will be on screens in the next couple of weeks and images of Andy the Sales Assistant will be blazoned across posters in branches.  Pop in to have a shoofty!  C.

   

Yesterday I filmed a new advert for Ronseal.  I was a long old day (18 hours!) but I made some great new friends including my wardrobe mistress Sabine Cockrill and make-up supervisor Charlotte Gibb.  We became a right little clique!  Filming was good fun but very slow going due to the accuracy needed in the shots.  I've never been under more pressure as an actor than when I had to stain some decking - seriously!  After an hour and a half to set up the shot, I had to get it right first time as we couldn't un-stain it once it had been stained!  Glad it went well.....

Anyway, it will be on air sometimes in the next couple of weeks.  I get to say an iconic line in it, too.  Bet you can't guess what it is!

          

This is a little bit belated but last Friday night a group of us from my Thursday night dance class did a little performance at a charity night in aid of Christie's.  What a laugh we had!  It wasn't a huge thing but for us it certainly felt it!  We did a routine to a medley of songs including Cheryl Cole and some other bands (I'm rubbish with music, sorry...!).  Although our focus was geared on giving a good show it was really nice to have a bit of a social with the girls afterwards and get to know them a bit better.  Seeing as I don't usually chat to them during a class (I feel rather outnumbered at a twenty-something to one ratio!) it was nice to finally have a decent chat.  We're hoping to have a few more gigs soon.  Again, nothing fancy, but something fun, honest and rewarding!

I spent today at The Coppice School in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire.  It is a generic secondary school for pupils from Years 7 to 13 with Moderate, Severe and Profound Learning Difficulties.  Along with the Speight of the Art Foundation I was able to help with a day of art classes.  I kick started the day as a Living Statue whilst Oliver Speight gave an introduction to the day and the charity.  After a day of cartooning with Chris Altham, making caricatures with Chris Ryder, finger painting, music and calligraphy I was on hand to help present certificates in an end of day ceremony.  Today truly was one of those days when you walk out of a building thinking 'Yes, I really have made a difference'.  A wonderful feeling and I loved every minute.  Thank you Speight of the Art and The Coppice!

Click the Sentinel logo above to read the newspaper article from the day including an interview with Chris

Well, after 7 hectic weeks it's now time to draw a line under Aladdin in Kendal.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time up in the Lake District and I've got some very fond memories of people, the venue, the panto and the town.  A huge thank you to all involved for making it such a wonderful season!  Oh, and the Adult Panto was great fun, too.....

Whilst in Kendal I'm pleased to say that my website passed the 25,000 hits mark.  That's a lot of people!  What is nice is that visitors have come from 37 different countries around the world!  Amazing!

The Aladdin cast, MD, DSM, ASM and Wardobe Mistress lying on the centre of the stage!
The photo was taken from the lighting rig!

As much as I love performing to the kids I'm glad we've now finished the school's performances if for no other reason than the 10am shows!  It's so hard getting yourself pumped up for bouncing about looking happy at that time of the day.  Let's face it, it's still the middle of the night for actors!  Anyway, the shows went well and the kids all seemed to enjoy themselves.  The cast and crew are now enjoying a well earned day off.  I've come home to Manchester (if only to do my washing!) and I'm hoping to catch up with a few friends whilst I'm here, filling them in about all of the panto gossip.  I'm loving my time in Kendal and I enjoy everyone's company.  All of the cast, youth actors, girls of the chorus, stage management and crew are fab!  Hoping to keep in touch with them all when this year's Panto Dream ends in 3 and a bit weeks time.....

Wishy Washy outside Widow Twanky's Launderette

We had our opening preview performance last night and have got a matinee preview today before we officially open tonight.  Exciting stuff.  It was fantastic to finally get the show in front of an audience.  It all went well and there was only one real error.  Without spelling it out in too fine a detail, one character has the line 'Twanky's Tacky Tat' and they unfortunately put the W in the wrong place.  Ooops!  We all had a good laugh about it on stage, though! 

For me personally it was wonderful having a new audience.  As I have so many jokes to tell in front of the same people in rehearsals it gets very tiring for both them and me.  Last night it was nice to get some laughs again! 

Well, onwards and upwards.  Day off tomorrow and if I'll try and update again with news about our opening night.

Click on the link below to visit the Go-Style website and read an interview with me about my extensive knowledge of clothes.  I'm just below singer Kristyna Myles!

Chris' interview with the Go-Style Live girls

So we're coming to the end of week two of rehearsals and we're bang on schedule.  It's been a fun couple of weeks and we've had such a good laugh.  As ever with panto it is a time of exploration.  I've been allowed to play with all sorts of ideas and I reckon I've come up with some pleasing lazzi sequences.  Time will tell (well, the audience reaction will tell) and even though we don't open until next Friday I'm dying to start making people laugh!

On the social side of things, the cast and crew have been out almost every night.  Highlights include our weekly inter-department darts tournament, curry night, cinema trips and X-Factor night (NOTE: I did not attend this night as I can't stand that programme!).

Aladdin cast, in order of appearance:
Genie:  Denise Hoey
Abanazer:  Ian Casey
Princess Lotus Blossom:  Annabel Bates
Ping:  Bekah Sloan
Pong:  Helen Moffitt
Wishy Washy:  Chris Clarkson
Widow Twanky:  Christopher Wright
Aladdin:  Duncan Johnston
Emperor of China:  Martin Lamb
Emperor's Guard:  Steve Atkinson

Am sat in the lounge of my digs in Kendal munching away on some Marmite on toast and washing it down with a vat of coffee.  Need the energy today as it's all about singing and dancing!  Looking forward to bustin' some grooves in the rehearsal studio then getting down to some serious harmony making.

I'm sharing the flat with Aladdin, Duncan Johnston, and we're already acting like we're brothers.  I constantly rib him and he plays the set-upon little bro' very well!  In fact, we've even colluded in some practical jokes that we will start playing on the cast and production team later today.  I love panto!

There was a meal last night for the full cast, crew, creatives and management of the panto.  The food at the Brewery is fabulous!  I had roasted pigeon breast for starters followed by venison for my main.  It was Ian Casey's (Abanazar) birthday yesterday so we delivered him a chocolate gateau with a candle in for dessert!  Happy days.

I had a fabulous time last night presenting the Christmas Lights Switch On in Warrington.  I work a lot at Golden Square and do love the Warrington crowds!  We had a number of acts performing for us from 4 until 8:30 including Kristyna Myles, High School Holiday, the cast of Warrington's panto Dick Whittington, dance troupe Nu Era and our star turn, X-Factor's own Lucie Jones.  The whole show went swimmingly well except for the fact that Lucie turned up late due to the M6 being closed and the fact that Warrington Town Centre was at a standstill because we had so many people crammed in!  But we didn't let that or the wet weather dampen our spirits.  Lucie sang 4 songs and joined in with the sing-a-long at the end (not to mention plunging the plunger to illuminate the Warrington sky!).  She was a really nice girl and spent a long time afterwards chatting with her fans, having photos taken and doing interviews.  I must admit that I don't watch X-Factor (I'm really not a fan of reality TV!) but I do think that that Simon chap has missed a trick by letting her go!  Anyway, Warrington is now all Christmas Lighted up and ready to receive it's Christmas Shopping hoards!  Golden Square is open until 9 on Thursdays with free parking from 4 and it's also free all day on Sundays!  Santa and his sleigh will be there telling stories and having free elf workshops on the Saturdays and Sundays before Christmas from November 28th.  Get down there and enjoy the family atmosphere!

   

Had fun today in Milton Keynes presenting a Fashion Show for XS Productions.  It was showcasing loads of different stores in what they call the 'Fashionable Quarter' of Milton Keynes.  I got to work with quite a few models that I have worked with before and also had a good laugh with the different audiences that we drew.  It was a really last minute booking and so pretty much everything I did was off the cuff.  Fortunately, that is the way I like to work!

Long time no post!  I've been very busy lately with various projects and my current one is a gem.  I've been working in two different attractions at Alton Towers as part of their Scarefest, The Boiler House and The Field of 1000 Screams.  Very few people actually get to work in both of these in any one year so I'm quite honoured!  In The Boiler House I have been playing the Handyman and in The Field of 1000 Screams I have been both the Hero (RAF Officer) and a Zombie.  Great fun!  I get to spend 6 or 7 hours just shouting at people and making them scream!  Without wanting to go into too much detail, across both attractions we have had a number of 'Code Yellows' and at least one 'Code Brown'.  Read into that what you want.....!

                  

Today I had a very BBC day indeed.  I was on BBC Radio Manchester at lunchtime on the Heather Stott show and then this evening in front of an audience of 700,000 people I was on BBC1's North West Tonight with Gordon Burns and Ranvir Singh.  The radio interview was good fun and Heather was really lovely.  She seemed genuinely interested, too, which was nice.  Gordon Burns had the shiniest shoes I think I've ever seen and Ranvir was extremely chatty!  Both interviews are available on my Living Statues page (click the link on the right of this page!).

Me in the North West Tonight studio

Wow!  What a weekend!  I am proud to write on here that I won the Audience Award at the 2009 World Statues Championships.  Sooooooo chuffed!  In the biggest audience vote ever recorded I was fortunate to top the list and I was awarded with my medal on stage at the end of the Parade.  As it was all in Dutch it wasn't until the presenter said 'James Bond' in a heavily accented voice that I realised what was going on.  Amazing!

   
Chris in one of his poses.            Chris mistakes a young girl for Blofeld.

World Champion Statue (orange) flanked by Chris and the Mayor then
the amateur winners.

I am proud to announce that my pub team won the Cup last night!  For those of you who don't know, to keep my singing voice in relatively good nick when I'm not working, I sing karaoke for my pub team, The Crown (416 Buxton Road, Great Moor, Stockport, SK2 7BY).  It's like a darts team or a pool team - just karaoke!  We came second in the league this season (congrats to The Jolly Sailor on their victory) but last night was the end of season knock out cup final.  Our equivalent of Wembley!

Our team on the night was made up of myself, Vickey Farr, Paul Lawton, Andy O'Brien and Matt Lees.  I sang Feed Me from Little Shop of Horrors with Andy in the 1st half and All I Care About from Chicago in the 2nd.  I must put a special mention here to our opponents on the night, Peters Square Tavern.  They are one of my favourite pubs on the circuit and they have an amazing team.  We had two incredibly close games in the league this season (one was even a draw) and I can't wait to play them again in 2010!

Thanks to everyone involved in the league for a fantastic season!  See you at the Presentation Night on Monday 21st September!

For more information on the league;
* Have a look at the website by clicking here and selecting Karaoke League on the top left. 
* Join our Facebook group by clicking here.

What a great day today was!  I was working at Golden Square Shopping Centre in Warrington with Calum Best and the Brit Chix doing a Celebrity Style Challenge with loads of different fashions available in the Centre.  Calum was a pleasure to work with and a thoroughly nice bloke, down to Earth and self-depricating.  The Brit Chix were a riot!  Three fantastic, talented ladies who are more than keen to join in and have a giggle.  Plus Neil, Victoria's boyfriend (again, a cracking chap).  A day's work does go so much quicker when you enjoy what you are doing and who you are doing it with!  Thanks to all involved!  C.

Victoria (T), Chris, Maddy, Paisley and Calum

Last week I had my first holiday in almost exactly 2 years as I went off to France with my golf club (Painswick) to play for the Le Coq Trophee.  12 of us made the trip across the channel from Portsmouth and we played 4 courses;

Golf Barriere de St.Julien
Beuzeval in Houlgate
Omaha Beach, (the Le Manoir/Etang courses)  and
L'Amiraute, in Deauville.

I'm delighted to report that I won the overall competition playing to around 4 shots below my handicap.  I had a fab time with the lads and hope to go back next year.  Much fun!

From left to right;
Barrie Hesling , Mick McGarr, Graham Moody, Dave Brazington, Brendan Nunan, Huw Anthony, Robin Anthony, Chris Clarkson, Mike Hoey, Neal Haddock (Captain), Kish Venkatasami, Gil Locke.

Not so much a work related blog but one I felt I wanted to make.  Yesterday I donated blood for the 30th time.  I've been giving regularly since I was 18.  The National Blood Service is always on the look out for more people to donate.  Nowadays you must be aged 17 upwards (there is no longer an upper age cut off).

• There are only 1.6 million registered blood donors in the UK and that equates to roughly 4% of the population.
• The National Blood Service needs to collect 9,000 pints a day.

I was very fortunate to be part of the launch for the North Staffordshire branch of the Speight of the Art Foundation at McDonalds in Newcastle Under Lyme.  I performed one of my Living Statues for the event.  Also there was Ian Cook (as seen on Blue Peter) who led workshops for kids which included making pieces of art by painting with remote controlled cars!  Lee D from CBBC's Prank Patrol was signing loads of autographs and walking around entertaining the crowds were magician and balloon modeller Ethan Mark and face painter Mari Leeds. 

For more information on the charity and to read more about the inspiration behind the foundation, Mark Speight, log onto their website below;

Yesterday was simply wonderful!  I presented a charity event in Salford Quays for Cash for Kids in association with Key 103 and Magic 1152.  Basically from the top of the Imperial War Museum North (the tower being 95m tall) a wire was stretched 300 metres across the Manchester Shipping Canal to the front of The Lowry.  Fundraisers were asked to raise a minimum of £150 to ride the Death Slide.  It was an amazing event and overall somewhere in the region of £40,000 was raised for local disadvantaged kids.  Every penny raised went straight back out into the Greater Manchester area.  I did some sums and worked out these facts;

2 days of Zipping with roughly 140 Zippers a day = 280 Zips

1 Zip = 300m  therefore  280 Zips = 84,000m

84,000m = Just over 52 miles worth of Zipping!

Amazing!  For me, though, the best part was that at the end of the day I was lucky enough to have a go, too!  Such an amazing experience!  I even convinced the man at the top to Gaffa Tape my wrists and ankles together along with putting a strip over my mouth.  At least it stopped me running away!

The Zip Wire came out of the dark grey rectangle on the tower and finished just behind the camera.

What fun!  I got to be Pete McConey in Death of a Rockstar somewhere in North Yorkshire tonight.  I had a wail of a time!  I'd never been in a Murder Mystery before and it was a hoot.  I got to work with my friends Jon Stokes, Rebecca Jenkins, Rob Laughlin and a new friend Muireann Price.  Fabulous stuff.  All based on a structured improvisation we were able to manipulate the evening to it thrilling denoument.  It was set in the 1960's and centred on the world famous band The Beetroots.  I don't want to say much more as I don't want to give anything away!

Well I had a great time with Sue last night on her radio show.  It was lovely to have a good chinwag and also great to receive loads of e-mails into the studio from both friends and listeners.  I happen to know that there were friends of mine listening in Tyne & Wear, Cardiff, Birmingham, London and even in Russia and Holland!  Fantastic!  Cheers guys!  Manchester Radio Online has over 350,000 listeners every month.

I've started going to dance classes this week.  This is a big step for me!  I know I'm not a dancer but I do have to dance in shows sometimes so I decided to try and keep my hand in whilst I'm not working.  I've been to two classes so far, on Tuesday and Thursday.  Tuesday's session was a bit embarrassing as I had to do a 'girly' dance to the Pussycat Dolls (I don't have hips that I can swing!) but last night's class with Clare was much more, ahem, 'butch'.  Sort of.  Anyway, I've really enjoyed it so far and the girls down at Tiva Dance in Stockport are great.  The studio is lovely and well equipped.  Well worth the embarrassment of being a boy in a dance class!

Tomorrow night (Friday) I'm going on my friend's, Susan Hanks, radio show!  I went to Bretton Hall with Sue and she is now a comedienne.  Her weekly show is on Manchester Radio Online and is, rather scarily, called The Girly Show.  We've been trying to arrange this for ages but either I've been busy working or she has already had someone booked in.  However, we were talking about it on Saturday night at her birthday party so finally we've been able to find an appropriate date!  Tune in from 9 until 11pm on Friday, I'll be on from 10 onwards!

To visit Manchester Radio Online click here!

Yesterday I had the chance to meet a true rugby great - Jason Robinson.  For those of you who don't know who he is, he played both League (never mind!) and Union, with the distinction of scoring the only try in the 2003 World Cup Final when England beat Australia. 

Anyway, myself and 10 friends went to Edgeley Park, the home of Sale Sharks, to watch Guinness Premiership match between Sale and Newcastle Falcons, and also to have Sunday lunch with Jason himself.  What a lovely man!  We had coffee and pastries before the game and a roast after (Sale lost the match which was a pity - but ironically great for my team, Leicester!) all in the company of Mr Robinson.  I chatted to him about his playing days and his family, and also quizzed him about his new job as Head Coach of Sale next season.  Much fun was had and much Guinness was drunk!

Sorry it's been such a long time since my last post but I've been really busy with work.  With the website still pulling in over 1,000 hits a month it is about time I wrote something new!  This week I will be appearing as the Clerk of the Court in EMMERDALE on ITV1 on Tuesday and Thursday.  I filmed it at the end of January in Morley Magistrates Court.  Funnily enough, the Judge was being played by a old friend of mine, Andy Hockley.  We last worked together playing Son-in-Law and Mother-in-Law... it was in panto!  Back over Christmas 2004-05 we were in Sleeping Beauty together at The Belgrade in Coventry (oh, Andy was in drag - not me!).    C.

Alas, Aladdin has had to close early for financial reasons.  It is a real shame as it really was a great show with a great bunch of people working on it.  I've made some lovely new friends who I'm sure to keep in touch with and by and large the audiences have been fabulous (bar the odd idiot...). 

We had everything possible thrown at us from company-wide illness to a cast member just walking away, power cuts mid-show to a Peterborough shortage of glitter!  Plenty of material for my autobiography.....!

Anyhow, goodbye Aladdin, it was fun!  C.

Today is only my second day off since 14th December!  29 shows with only Christmas Day off!  I'm shattered!  Anyhow, it's going really well and the show is still in fantastic shape.  Since Ray Quinn left us, Owen Thompson has been playing Aladdin and he has been wonderful.  It's great working with him on stage, too.  The audiences have been wonderful although we always need more people to turn up!  Some shows are sold out but we can usually squeeze a couple more people in.  Also, we are closing a few days earlier on 13th January so get up/down/across whilst you still can!

We had a great New Years party here in Peterborough around at the Technical Managers house.  Much table tennis was played and larking about was at a premium!  With only a few days left to go now we are starting to gear up for our end-of-show parties, meals and nights out.  If you make it along to the show then come say hello and tag along!!!

C.

To everyone who regularly checks my site and to all newcomers and first timers - Merry Christmas!  I've had a great year this year with loads of new avenues of work opening up and plenty of new friends.  Thank you to everyone who has made 2008 a special year for me.

Panto is going well and after a hectic and tumultuous couple of weeks at work we are now settling down into a nice routine.  The company is lovely and we've had some fabulous nights out in and around Peterborough (or Pantoborough as I call it!).  I've especially made some very close friends who I know I will definitely keep in touch with.  The show still looks stunning so if you can make it to Peterborough - do come along!  Always more than happy to say hello to folk after a performance!

C.

Yesterday we had our first two previews of Aladdin and they went well considering how tired we all were!  In one of the most complicated technical rehearsals I've ever been involved with, everyone worked incredibly hard to get the show up and running.  I've had some lovely messages from people who have been to see the show and I always try to reply to them personally.  Thanks for the wonderful response!  C.

I'm now a week into rehearsals for Aladdin and it's going well.  We're bang on schedule and maybe even a little ahead.  I'm hoping to start dancing properly at the start of next week (I should add at this point that I was hospitalised last week with a poorly leg and have been on crutches ever since).  The cast are all great.  I'm living with Alex McNamara, Alex Bird and Holly Hughes in a lovely little house in a Peterborough supurb.  It's been a riot so far!  Anyway, get yourself down to The Broadway Theatre in Peterborough for a visually fantastic panto!  Never has there been so much glitter in a pantomime - and that's saying something!

Last night I was down in Peterborough to set the fireworks off at East Anglia's biggest display, the Firework Fiesta.  Despite getting DRENCHED in the monsoon-like weather it was really good fun and the celebrations weren't dampened down too much!  It was nice to be able to meet up with some cast members, too.  Anthony Williams, Brian Capron, Gareth Richards and Daniella Valvano were all just as cold as me (Aladdin costumes have a lot of flesh on show!) but spirits were high and banter was rife.  I'll be down there again on Thursday to turn on the Christmas lights in the Queensgate Shopping Centre - come on down and say hello!

What a day!  For my friend's birthday (damn you Stu!) he decided that instead of having a party, he would make us all do a 5km run for charity in Heaton Park, Manchester.  Nice.  Well, not wanting to take the easy option of just running around the course, Scott Clarke and I decided to get dressed up and do it on jump stilts!  What fun!  It took us a lot longer to get around than most people, but we must have used more energy than everyone else put together.  Shattered now but, hey, the trees of Manchester will appreciate us!  For more information on the charity go to their website.  http://www.tree-athlon.org/

Francesca Larkin, Chris Clarkson, Stuart Rooker and Scott Clarke.

Right, along with my new projects of learning two new languages (not saying which ones until I'm half-decent at them!), I have been challenged by a good friend of mine, Fiona J Keats, with whom I'm doing panto this year, to learn the ukulele BEFORE PANTO STARTS!  I begin rehearsals on 17th November so need to crack on.  Can anyone tell me where I can get a cheap, decent ukulele and also any tricks to learning how to play it.  I hate losing a challenge so I need as much help as possible!  PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!!!!!  Chris.

I'm very chuffed to be able to say that for each of the last 4 consecutive calendar months the website has had over 1,000 hits.  In total there have been over 10,000 hits since the site's inception nearly a year ago.  I'd like to personally say a big thank you to everyone who has helped update and manage the site for me for the last 12 months.  Also, to everyone from the 27 different countries around the world who have logged on!  Thanks!  Chris.

Well, I didn't win but then that's no surprise.  The standard was exceptionally high.  A couple from Italy won the overall prize.  There were well over 300,000 people walking around the pre-designated route in the centre of Arnhem.  In 4 hours I only took one 5 minute break!  I was shattered!  I would have taken much more but there were so many people around I felt like I had to perform as much as possible.  I'm now spending a few days with my Dutch friends in Arnhem and also in Amsterdam.  I'm being taught how to firebreathe tonight by Hienke - this may be my last blog post for a while if it all goes wrong!


P.S.  I've already been invited back to St Petersburg for next years International Festival which is nice!

I write this sitting at Manchester Airport waiting to board my flight to Holland for the Championships.  All my gear (a big box 60x60x80) has been checked in and hopefully will turn up in Amsterdam with me.  If not, looks like I'll be entering naked painted silver!  On the back of the Olympics I feel like I want a Team GB t-shirt....

Well the show is now over and so ends Edinburgh Fringe 2008.  We had a couple of nice reviews (check the Reviews page via the link on the left of the page).  It's been a great experience but absolutely shattering!  I've worked every single day for the last 5 weeks and also managed to squeeze in over 20 Fringe shows and many, many, many hours of socialising!  The best shows that I saw were The Elephant Man, Dancing on your Grave, Cloudcuckooland, Departure Lounge, Showstoppers and No Place For Dreams.  Thanks to everyone that I met up there from times of old and also to all of the new friends that I have made.  Please keep in touch!  Chris.

Last night was our first performance of Soul Traders at the Edinburgh Festival.  Due to a complicated tech on Saturday we actually used last night as an open dress rehearsal and made it free entry.  Despite the fact that it was our first run through on stage with props, costumes, lights, the band etc. it went very well.  One down - twenty two to go! 

Venue 112 at 7:15pm everyday until Monday 25th August.

Well, who says life isn't varied?  This morning I'm rehearsing for Soul Traders playing a 1960's banker with a bowler hat and a brolly.  This afternoon I'm dressing up as a punk for The One Show and walking around Finsbury Park in London being filmed.  This evening I'm auditioning for a show in which my character is a roller skating drag queen.  It's certainly not a dull 9-5 job this acting lark!

Week One has now gone and the show is slowly taking shape.  Mostly done singing and dancing so far (there will be a couple of fabulous moments).  Cast and creatives all seem lovely and we've already taken out shares in some local Bloomsbury bars!  Will keep you posted as to how it all goes........

Yet again I had a fabulous time down at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.  This year was the first when all of the cars were able to do the Hill Climb together.  The Ant Hill Mob were the new addition this year and so we had over 30 people all sharing a tiny dressing room!  Fortunately the weather was a lot better than last year so we were able to sit outside a lot more.  What made it even better for me was my good friend Scott Clarke was able to come along and play Dick Dastardly opposite my Peter Perfect.  Great fun!

All of the characters.  I'm centre bottom next to Penelope Pitstop.

Well panto has been arranged now - at last!  I'm really looking forward to working in Peterborough this Christmas (ironically my mum was working there today!) as it's a town I've never had the chance to see.  The Creative Team all seemed very nice in my auditions and it should be really good fun!  When I know more I'll let you know!  In the meantime, see the Coming Up... page for more details.

What larks!  Today I've been down at the BBC having a series of photographs taken for The One Show.  What with it's 1st birthday coming up they have decided to renew their posters, website and advertising with the new presenters.  Also ended up being interviewed (felt odd being the other side of the microphone!) for some cut-aways that will be used sporadically as fillers or as BBC adverts.  I got to pose with a megaphone.  Never done that before!

Yesterday I was offered the park of banker/broker George in the new comedy musical, Soul Traders.  We will be rehearsing in London for a few weeks before heading up to the Edinburgh Festival.  I'm really looking forward to going back there as I haven't been to the Festival since 1999!  Also, I get to work with my friend, Andrew Wright, again who is choreographing us.  If anyone is interested in coming along then check out the details on the Coming Up page.  The producers are hopeful that it may transfer to a London theatre after our stint in Scotland.

Well what can I say.  I have had, without a doubt, the best weekend of my life.  It has been an amazing experience working in Russia and also a fabulous opportunity to get to know people from all over the world.  I'd like to thank everyone individually for their support and hard work but, alas, I don't know how to spell everyone's name!  I'd love to go back and do it all again.  Hopefully next year, eh?!? 

Spaseeba. (if that is spelt correctly!)

P.S.  For those of you who don't know I was performing three different Human Statues in the festival.

Today the website had it's 4,000 hit!  I'm so chuffed that it has become so popular and I regularly get great feedback.  If anyone has anything to comment (good or bad) then please do leave me a message on the Contact page and, if you want, I will reply.  It has been brought to my attention that this feature stopped working for a while so please don't hink me rude if I haven't getten back to you.

I have launched a new page today - Film Clips.  You can navigate to it via the menu of the left.  Eventually I intend to get as many clips on there as possible but to start with only my two most recent tv appearances, The Royal Today and The ONE Show.  Enjoy!

I spent today on the sunny Southbank filming a section of BBC1's The ONE Show.  Great fun.  I got to run around with a loud hailer interviewing members of the general public!  Right up my street!

May I take this oportunity on this beautiful Good Friday (well, it is in Manchester anyway!) to wish you all a very Happy Easter.  Hope the Easter Bunny brought all the eggs you could poosibly eat!

Chris. x

Today I did the Sport Relief Mile in Manchester and it was GREAT!  I was helping publicise a new cartoon called The Likeaballs.  I did the whole course in just over an hour due to constantly stopping to shake hands, be interviewed live on BBC1 and play up for the cameras!  During the live show the Beeb also showed clips of me accepting a Guinness World Record certificate for taking part in our successful 'Keepy-Uppy' World Record attempt 2 weeks ago!  What a day!

Well, the episode of The Royal Today in which I feature is on this afternoon.  If you watch it (I won't be...) then feel free to comment on this blog or send me a message via the Contact us page with any criticism you want to share!

Was offered a few options for panto for next Christmas today which was nice - and it's only February!  Watch this space for more announcements.....

Despite doing 11 and 12 hour days I'm having a ball here in Nottingham!  Meeting loads of really nice Boots folk and having such a laugh with them all both in the bar and during the conferences and performances.  Would love to make it to the gym and pool here a bit more but spending any free time I have sleeping...

Although the website is only a few months old it's just passed the 1,000 visitor mark.  Visitors have come from 19 countries around the world; UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Poland, Japan, India, Netherlands, Spain, Philippines, South Africa, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, China, Egypt, Barbados, France and Hong Kong.

Thanks for your support!  Please feel free to comment on what you like/dislike by getting in touch on the Contact page.

Have launched a new page today with samples of my voice on.  Will hopefully get more samples on there as time goes on.  All material is Copyright.  Please get in contact if you'd like to hear full versions.

There are some new photos in the Performance Gallery section of the website.  They show me as Dandini in Cinderella this Christmas.  It really was a very enjoyable show!

Well, that's it!  Panto is finished for yet another year.  I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the production from the cast and crew through to the One From the Heart staff and the wonderful folk at the Wyvern Theatre.  I've had a great time and hope to catch up with everyone soon!

I would like to wish anyone who reads this a very Merry Christmas indeed!  Hope 2008 is a great year!

Chris.

Well, our first performance is over and it was very well received.  After 2 full dress rehearsals and no 'tidy-up' calls or anything like that we knew we were ready.  Nothing major went wrong and everyone seems buoyant.  Quite a small house for our first preview this afternoon but we're pretty much sold out now for the rest of the run.  Good stuff!

1 show down, 49 to go!

Right, week one of rehearsals is now complete.  All blocked, choreographed, sung through and learnt.  Lovely.  A really nice company and a very sociable crowd.  Also, it's the most organised rehearsal period I have ever experienced!  The director, Richard Frost, has a schedule that is regimented, ordered and (most importantly) stuck to.  It makes life in Swindon so much clearer.

Now planning a relaxing day off to go over lines, lyrics and dancemoves.  Oh, and hopefully get a round of golf in...

That's it, finished filming my episode today.  I've never worked on a more comfortable, relaxed and friendly set.  Everyone there was great.  I only had my last 'emotional' scene to do and I was dead chuffed that we did it on the first take!  Series will probably start to be screened around February time but I'm not on until Episode 47... 10 weeks down the line!

Today was my first day working on the new ITV daytime soap THE ROYAL TODAY.  I was on set for 6:30am so it's been a long day!  The cast and crew were all really nice and bubbly.  Got to film quite a few nice scenes in which I was able to do some 'proper' acting!  Spent the day covered in fake mud and dirt as my character, Paul Jenkins, is a Base Jumper whose friend, Kelly, has injured themself jumping off Filey Brigg in North Yorkshire.  The director, Chris Corcoran, was lovely and we ended up swopping panto stories all day!  The series will probably start to air in the New Year.

Just spent this morning in Liverpool recording a voice over for Hollyoaks.  Got very confused when I got to the studios as it's where they film both Hollyoaks and Grange Hill with both sets being intertwined!  Didn't know if I was in Chester or London!

I played a cheesy TV Presenter on one of those tacky Quiz TV type programmes.  TX is in November sometime.

Spent today wandering around MetroCentre on stilts whilst dressed as Prince Charming.  Big old celebration for the shopping centre's 21st birthday with loads of entertainers, a fun fair and a spectacular fireworks display.  A good few thousand people turned up and everyone really seemed to enjoy it.  I had a chance to catch up with a few friends and even made it to the pub to watch the South Africa vs Argentina game when I'd come down off of my stilts!  Marvellous!

Spent today filming selected scenes from Much Ado About Nothing.  SATS exams look at Shakespeare plays with specific reference to 'Key Extracts'.  Oddsocks Productions run workshops for schools on these (I have done a few myself) and also create a DVD for classroom use.  I played Don Pedro and had a wail of a time!  It was a very long day but great fun, particularly as I was working with some people that hadn't seen for ages and at a house in Warwickshire which is described as "like being at your mum's - only better" due to the owner, Helen, being such a wonderful hostess!  Hopefully will get some screen shots in my Performance Gallery soon.

Today is a very special day for me as my new website goes live.   There may be a glitch or two to start with but hopefully they'll be ironed out before too long.

Feel free to give me any feedback on what you think - I'll take good and bad!

Chris.