I grew up watching John Thaw, so his are big shoes to fill...

says Holby star Tom Chambers as he takes on the iconic Inspector Morse in a major new stage adaptation. He's just unsure whether he wants Sheila Hancock to see it or not

- By Richard Barber

THE ALMIGHTY would approve of Tom Chambers. He loves a trier.

While still at school at Repton, in Derbyshire, Tom enrolled at the National Youth Music Theatre in the holidays before subsequently gaining a place (at the second time of trying) at the Guildford School of Acting. His end-ofterm showcase resulted in his being taken on by an agent.

"But I only got two auditions in two years," he says, "one of which was for the arena tour of Bob the Builder; the other for a part in The Bill for which I needed an HGV licence. When I asked if I could wait for a proper acting job, she fired me." He then hatched the somewhat harebrained scheme of trying to get on the Royal Variety Show. "I wrote to them saying I wanted to do a tap dance with a drum kit like Fred Astaire in Damsel In Distress and, to my surprise, they said they'd like to see me." So, he moved back in with his parents and spent nine months perfecting the routine, keeping body and soul together working as a pizza delivery man, a barman, and a window cleaner. "But then, three weeks before I was ready to show them my dance, they said they'd got everyone they needed." Undaunted, Tom got in touch with Repton asking if he could film the routine on the stage of the school theatre during the holidays. He then sent out a thousand copies on DVD 600 to UK producers, theatre directors, agents, casting people; 400 to America.