Married pair Robert Daws and Amy Robbins to star in on-stage murder mystery

Robert Daws and Amy Robbins star in Rehearsal for Murder

That’s certainly not the case for married pair Robert Daws and Amy Robbins, who despite starring in a new stage play called Rehearsal for Murder, love working together.

Considering they met on the job, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

They starred in ITV drama, The Royal, and jumped at the chance to play a couple again in producer Bill Kenwright’s new stage tour.

“Bill’s very canny, so he probably thought it would be nice to have an actual couple playing the couple in the show, and he came to us with it,” said the genial Robert.

“We read the script and Amy said she really liked her part, so that was the deal done because I wasn’t going to argue with that!”

It was during a script reading for The Royal that Robert and Amy, playing Dr Gordon Ormerod and Dr Jill Weatherill, met and fell in love.

“Amy had already been there for a week but I was delayed on another job so got there just in time for the first read-through,” he said.

“That’s where we met and it became quite romantic from the get go.”

The whirlwind romance saw them married by the end of the first series and during the programme’s eight-year run they had two daughters, Betsy and May.

Robert, 56, said: “Emotionally and logistically it became more than a job. It was a lovely show to do and from quite early on we had a good feeling about it.”

They’re also enjoying themselves in Rehearsal for Murder, which they’re touring until May. It comes to Edinburgh this week.

Robert is playwright Alex Dennison, who’s left heartbroken when his fiancée and leading lady Monica Welles (played by Amy) is found dead from an apparent suicide after the opening night of her stage debut.

On the first anniversary, Alex assembles the same cast and crew at the theatre for a reading of his new play. But it soon becomes clear that Alex believes Monica was murdered and his new play is a cat-and-mouse chase to uncover her killer.

The show is based on a 1982 TV movie of the same name, written by crime TV royalty Richard Levinson and William Link, the creators of Columbo and Murder She Wrote.

“Murder mysteries are great puzzles and audiences enjoy them, as do I,” continued Robert, who has written crime novels.

“There are little aspects of Columbo, Murder She Wrote and Agatha Christie to it and the audiences are gasping in all the right places.”

Also starring with the couple are familiar television faces like Susan Penhaligon, Robert Duncan, Ben Nealon, Steven Pinder and Lucy Dixon.

Robert’s looking forward to coming to Edinburgh, having started his acting career with a two-and-a-half-year run at The Lyceum theatre.

Coming with them will be Betsy, May and Robert’s teenage son Ben from his first marriage.

“The way the first half of the tour mapped out meant we were able to commute from our home in Bedfordshire and the further away venues, like Edinburgh, are during the Easter school holidays, so they’ll be coming with us.

“The girls have been brought up on sets and all three love it.

“Betsy, who’s 12 now, will be helping out in the wardrobe department for work experience.

“They’re of an age now when we are able to go on tour but we wouldn’t be doing it if we weren’t able to get home as much as we
can.”

Robert was recently seen in the first series of smash-hit Poldark, playing grumpy Dr Choake.

That, like The Royal, was another show he had a good feeling about as it was being made.

“There was a sense it was going to be a bit special and it’s lovely to see it doing well.

“Aidan Turner is charming and was lovely to work with. He is a very talented chap and was absolutely on top of it, as you need to be as the leading man.

“Unfortunately I’m not appearing in the second series because I was contracted elsewhere – the first series was filmed in spring and summer, but the second was moved to the autumn and winter and I was caught up in other things.

“It happens, but who knows about next year.

“They had another doctor in it anyway, so viewers probably won’t notice the curmudgeon isn’t there!”

Robert’s legion of fans would surely disagree.

Rehearsal for Murder will run at King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, March 21-26

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