Former River City star Gary Lamont on his new Skype based theatre show

IT isn’t every day stars such as Graham Norton and Martine McCutcheon make appearances in community theatres across Scotland’s heartland.

But over the next few months, the likes of Eastwood Park Theatre in Giffnock and Livingston’s Howden Park will play host (sort of) to these big names.

Sort of, because they’ll appear via video link as part of a comedy show from former River City star Gary Lamont, who has called on his showbiz pals’ input for Dropping The Soap.

Graham and Martine – as well as Dawn Steele, Michelle McManus and Claire Richards from Steps – will appear in the show as Gary pokes fun at himself.

“The premise of the show is I’ve left River City and what do I do now, so I Skype call all of my famous pals for their advice,” smiled Gary, who played Robbie Fraser in the BBC Scotland drama.

“Claire is my childhood idol, Graham is my favourite TV host, Dawn is my favourite actress, Martine is my spirit animal and Michelle is normally so expensive I can’t afford her!

“To have them all take part and send themselves up has been incredible.

“It’s set up to look like it’s live. We did the show at the Edinburgh Fringe last August and people in the audience thought we had them on the phone right there and then, so that was a compliment.”

What the audiences in the capital didn’t realise was a few of the guest stars did actually come along to see the show.

“Graham came to a performance, as did Dawn and Michelle, but we snuck them into the back row after the lights had gone down,” Gary revealed.

Whether any of them make it along to Gary’s tour over the next few months is yet to be seen, but Gary can’t wait to take the show on the road.

It starts this week in Falkirk and Dundee, with dates in Kilmarnock, Cumbernauld, Giffnock, Stirling, Paisley, Kirkcaldy, Lochgelly, Livingston and St Andrews still to come.

And the show is proving to be a change of pace compared to River City, where he spent the best part of a decade.

“I’ve never gone on tour and theatre isn’t something I have done much of, so I’m really excited about it,” he admitted.

“I left River City in May, having spent eight years there, which is the longest job I’ve ever had.

“It’s a great gig and I had a brilliant life – I travelled the world, bought a house and had a comfortable existence – but I really started to feel like it was time to move on.

“I wasn’t as excited about it any more and I was looking at all the new cast members who were coming in and seeing how excited they were, so the producer wasn’t shocked when I said it was time to leave.

“It was the right moment and I wanted to go out on a high.”

He did so in a memorable on-screen exit, leaving Shieldinch in a limousine with Claire Richards, having been hired as the hairdresser for the latest Steps tour.

Nine months on, and as well as writing and performing Dropping The Soap, Gary has taken himself south of the border to explore new opportunities.

“I’ve come down to London as I thought it was time for a fresh start,” he said.

“It’s a change of scenery, plus my agents are here, so I thought I would give it a bash.

“I have to recalibrate my brain. I had three years of this before I joined River City and I had forgotten what it’s like.

“It’s a big dose of reality that hits you in the face, but I’m a hustler and I’m not precious.”

Gary accompanied his fellow ex-River City colleague Holly Jack to Los Angeles when she first tried to break into Hollywood.

“If there’s anything I could do again it would be to save my money to buy a visa, which costs a lot,” he added.

“I was watching from the sidelines with a keen interest.

“It’s a yes town – they’ll invite you in for meetings and it’s always sunny, whereas in Scotland we are realists and we have our feet on the ground.

“Over there a falseness exists – but there’s something to be said for that.

“London or LA? London’s the easier transition, plus I can still enjoy the sun in London, so that’s where I’ll spend my summer rather than up the road.”