Persistent Tom Chambers’ career didn’t end a Casualty

ACTOR and former Strictly winner Tom Chambers is currently packing out theatres around the country in Crazy For You.

He’s also on Saturday night TV mainstay Casualty, reprising his breakthrough Holby City role of Sam Strachan.

But the 40-year-old can recall only too well when times weren’t so good, suffering the indignity of being sacked by his agent for refusing to take a job on the Bob The Builder UK tour.

It was at that stage he decided persistence was required – and took matters into his own hands.

“At that point I’d been unemployed as an actor for six years,” explained Tom.

“I needed a new agent, so I decided to contact the Royal Variety Performance and ask if they would be interested in a Fred Astaire routine on a drum kit.

“They said yes and asked me to get it ready, so I gave up my place in the city and moved back to my parents’ house, set up a floor and mirrors, and spent the next nine months working on and perfecting the routine.

“Three weeks before the Royal Variety, the organisers said they no longer required the routine.”

Determined to make use of his hard work, Tom contacted his old school and asked if he could use their stage to film the performance. He then made 1000 DVDs and sent them out to the industry.

He received just two responses – from a theatre producer organising a Fred Astaire tribute night and, unbelievably, the producers of Holby City offering Tom an audition for the BBC drama.

“The character was American and I think because I was paying tribute to Fred Astaire, they must have thought I was American too.

“I went in and read in an American accent, but they said they thought I was better than that part and I should come back and audition for a bigger role which was for a three-year contract rather than two episodes.

“They asked me where I had been for the past six years and I told them I had been writing to people like them all that time, looking for work! They were worried about giving me the job because I had no experience. It was a big gamble for them.

“Thankfully they took a chance and it changed my life overnight. No longer did I have to be a pizza delivery driver, window cleaner, lorry driver or whatever other job I could find.”

Tom can recall mucking around on the kitchen floor as a tot, doing a sort of stomp dance before he saw Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies and learning what dance was really all about.

But it took some more time before his thoughts turned to acting.

“I got into it by mistake,” he smiled. “We were playing football at school when the teacher came over and said auditioning for the school play was compulsory, because no one had volunteered.

“I ended up being picked for the starring role of Dracula in Dracula Spectacular.”

Soon after, when he was 15, he saw Crazy For You in the theatre and adored it’s funny script.

“I always said if there was one role I would love to play it was Bobby and now I’m getting to do it.”

Tom stars alongside Claire Sweeney and Charlotte Wakefield in the musical.

The dad-of-two says he wouldn’t have the role of Bobby – or created the part of Jerry in Top Hat, which had 500 performances over two years – had it not been for his Strictly success in 2008.

“After graduation I used to audition for musicals, but never got as far as round two after lunch,” he admitted.

When Crazy For You comes to an end in June, Tom hopes he can return to another TV show, Father Brown, but before that he brings the musical to Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

“Aberdeen was my local big city growing up, because my family used to stay in a little place between Brechin and Edzell for 12 years during every school holiday.

“I would go to Brechin City’s matches and play golf with my dad on the links courses in the area.

“I used to love cycling down that long, straight stretch of road outside Edzell.

“I can’t wait to come back north.”

Crazy For You; His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, March 27-31, Edinburgh Playhouse, April 3-7