Former Holby City and Strictly star Tom Chambers tells Diane Parkes about his new stage role.

Tom Chambers may be best known for his rumba and quickstep but the actor said he was a dab hand at tap long before he competed in Strictly Come Dancing.

Chambers, who played Sam Strachan in Holby City and Max Tyler in Waterloo Road, is now tapping his way to success as he prepares to take on the stage show Top Hat.

Based on the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film of the same name, his role requires dexterity at both tap and waltz. And he said he felt confident in both.

“I have always loved dancing,” he said. “I have loved tap since the age of five – even before I knew who Fred Astaire was.

“Then I started watching those Saturday afternoon films and I did the odd class or two. When I went to drama school we did tap so it was something I could already do.

“It is totally different from dancing on Strictly, where you have to be so regimented for the ballroom and be able to wiggle your hips like a snake for the Latin.”

But Chambers said he was sure that winning the 2008 series helped him land the role for Top Hat, which comes to Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday to September 10.

“When they were looking to cast this show I am sure it helped that they had seen me on Strictly,” he said. “It meant I was in the right place at the right time.”

And Chambers said he had Astaire to thank for even being in the public eye at all.

“When I finished drama school my agent dropped me because I refused to do the tour of Bob the Builder,” he recalled.

“I was looking for work. I took a video of Astaire dancing, frame by frame, and reproduced it. I put up a load of mirrors and even recorded it at my old school.

“I sent out 1,000 copies and received two replies.

“One was from the makers of Holby City. They were looking for someone to play an American doctor and, because Astaire was American, they thought I might do.

“So Astaire helped me get my first job, in a bizarre way.”

While waiting to begin filming on Holby, Tom undertook his first professional acting job in Birmingham.

“It was one of those BBC plays. It was called The Last Will and Testament of Billy Two-Sheds, and we went to Pebble Mill and filmed it outside on the allotments.”

In Top Hat, Chambers plays Jerry Travers, a famous American tap dancer who arrives in London and meets the girl of his dreams, Dale Tremont, played by West End actress Summer Strallen.

Alongside the dancing, the show features a host of well-known Irving Berlin songs, including Cheek to Cheek, Let’s Face the Music and Dance and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

And Chambers admitted the singing was his biggest challenge.

“I didn’t get a good start in singing,” he said. “I think I went through about five singing teachers in a year.

‘‘I don’t think it’s something I have a feel for naturally. But I love musical theatre and I have kept at it. So when I was offered a singing character I felt able to do it.

“I was in White Christmas at Sunderland Empire. It was a fantastic show and that was a steep learning curve for me but I feel more confident about singing.

“Of the three though, singing, acting and dancing, I would say singing is not the most natural for me.”

But he said he was looking forward to tackling some of those classic songs.

“This show is so warm and it has strong characters and a strong storyline and I am sure it will do well with audiences.”

* Top Hat, Birmingham Hippodrome, August 30 to Sep 10. Tickets: 0844 338 5000, www.birminghamhippodrome.com