I played football with Pelé'

I come from a showbiz family – my parents were variety performers and they'd do summer season every year. In those days, it was obligatory to have a female impersonator. So, from a very early age, I've been surrounded by men dressed as women – and here I am still doing the same sort of thing.

- WORDS: STEVE CAIN.

I'm playing Bob in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He's the mechanic who gets called to the Australian desert to fix the bus transporting a trio of drag artists to their gigs. Bob sticks with them and helps out when they get into this homophobic territory. So, he becomes part of the team in a way.

The stage production very much follows the movie script, that story and those characters. It's really very current in this day and age, which has become so confusing in terms of identity and who you are and who you aren't.

Of course, I'm too old now to 'drag up' and play one of the other parts, but I do when I'm performing in pantomime. I actually have a barn full of 80 different 'dame' costumes. I find it very easy to slip into a frock when the need arises.