Now PC Jim Carver is appearing as a different kind of policeman altogether in the farce Run For Your Wife and it will be his first time on stage at Worthing, as well as his first tour for 25 years.

"Yes, I'm a policeman again – and for the second time in a Ray Cooney play," he said. "I was in Tom, Dick and Harry in 2005 in the West End.
"This time I am a punctilious policeman – a stickler for the rules and the figure of authority in the play."

Ian Dickens Productions present a national tour for the 25th anniversary of the play, with an all-star cast including Melvyn Hayes, Paul Henry (best known for his role of Benny in Crossroads), Barry Howard (Barry Stuart-Hargreaves, the championship ballroom dancer in BBC TV's Hi-De-Hi!); long-standing company favourite David Callister; Michelle Morris (The Knock) and West End star Tiffany Graves.

John Smith is a London cabbie with his own taxi, a wife in Streatham, a wife in Wimbledon - and a knife-edge schedule.

By strict adherence to this schedule, he has been a successful, if tired, bigamist for three years, but one day, gallantly intervening in a mugging, he is taken to hospital with mild concussion.

In the ensuing complications, aided by an unwilling Stanley, John tries bravely to cope with a succession of well-meaning but prying policemen, the press, two increasingly irate wives and a very camp neighbour, until he manfully confesses the truth - but no one believes him.

"It's a work of absolute genius," said Mark. "It's great fun to do and there's a fabulous cast. I'm sharing a flat with Melvyn Hayes at the moment, which is great.

"The audiences love it. Some of the shows have been sold out. It's a classic piece of work, a play of its time. It's not politically correct and one reviewer called it offensive but it's just out and out funny. That's what we've lost. Everyone is too scared to laugh at things.

"It's an old play and can get away with it but I think political correctness will come full circle anyway. I was discussing with Melvyn Hayes if farce was dead and we both say no.

"The last time I toured it was from the back of a minibus. Touring is great. You get to go to some really interesting places."

His hobby of scuba diving has brought Mark to Shoreham and Littlehampton but he has only passed through Worthing and said he was looking forward to a stay in the town.

Mark, whose break into acting was in the film Quadrophenia, can soon be seen in the film Franklyn, due out in December, and he also appears in a forthcoming Second World War story called Stone's War, filmed in Lithuania.

Since leaving The Bill in 2004, he has been keen to try different things. Last year, he filmed in Tunisia as a Roman gladiator trainer for the BBC's Spartacus, in Lithuania, in the USA, tried some sci fi and went back to the stage.

"I'd like to do a variety of stage work. I've missed it for the last 21 years," he said. "I'd like to work for the National Theatre."

Hailing from Horndean, near Portsmouth, Mark's love of acting started at school and he won a scholarship to the National Youth Theatre.

During his second year, he took the lead in a play and was spotted by the casting director of Quadrophenia.

He played reckless and rebellious mod Dave in the 1979 film, aged just 17. The role of Tony in the film Breaking Glass followed a year later.

"I didn't go to drama school but spent a couple of years doing theatre in London and the provinces, when they had a rep network. That's how I learned the trade really.

"I was in a stage play – the tour I was talking about 25 years ago – and was doing three weeks at the Royal Court when the casting director for Thames TV came along.

"All five in the play were auditioned for Woodentop, the pilot for The Bill. Three of us got parts.

"That pilot was made into the first series of The Bill. I joined it to do an hour play that took four weeks to film and stayed 21 years!

"I loved it but thought I had done everything I could and maybe it was time I moved on. They have left it open for me so I can return at any time.

"At the moment I am in one of the best plays ever written and I'm making people laugh, which is wonderful.

"It's the opposite to doing The Bill, miles apart. Jim Carver faced every moral dilemma and went through all the isms – drugs, alcohol. It was doing my head in!

"The wonderful thing about theatre is the immediate contact with the audience. They come along to laugh and interact with the play.

"With The Bill, you work 12 hours a day and it takes 14 days for one episode. It is one of the major employers of actors – an institution that should never be lost."

Prepare for a few laughs at the Connaught Theatre from September 2 to 6 at 7.30pm, with a 2pm matinée on the Wednesday and 2.30pm on the Saturday.

Tickets are £13 to £22 (concessions £1 off) from the box office on 01903 206206 or visit www.worthingtheatres.co.uk

-------------------------------------
Click here to go back to leisure.

Where are you? Add your pin to the Herald's international readers' map by clicking here.

Email the Herald: letters@worthingherald.co.uk