|  | 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 |
