Alan Titchmarsh to make West End debut in Wind in the Willows

TV personality Alan Titchmarsh is to make his West End debut on stage as the narrator of Wind in the Willows.

Housewives favourite – Titchmarsh is to take his first steps on the boards in a Royal Opera House production of Wind in the Willows, as he takes the role of a singing narrator.

Dressed in a tweed suit, he will play Wind in the Willows author Kenneth Grahame in the much-loved children’s classic.

Despite years of television presenting, and a childhood spent as a choirboy, it will be Titchmarsh’s first venture on the West End stage, at the Vaudeville Theatre.

He was approached for the role months after going to see the production with his family, when he joked it would be a “dream” to play the part of the narrator.

Titchmarch will now be learning 4,500 words of lines to deliver on stage, partly in verse, prose and song.

The story of Wind in the Willows will be brought to life with song, music, dance and puppetry, running from November 26 to January 17, 2015.

Intended as a family show, it tells the tale of four woodland friends, beginning in a “dusty old attic” and rampaging from the riverbank to the Wild Wood.

Titchmarsh, who is now a bestselling novelist, chat show host and horticulturist, said he was “thrilled” at taking on a new opportunity, hinting it could lead to a whole new career.

“It’s funny and it’s touching, and it’s a great challenge,” he said. “It’s absolutely thrilling and at the moment a little terrifying.

“I loved the show so much when I saw it that I’m really keen to do it well. If I don’t love it on stage, there’s no chance the audience will.

“It was a dream role, but not a realistic dream. I know the book pretty much by heart, but these lines are written by Andrew Motion.

“I’ve cleared the decks for rehearsals and will be throwing myself into it until January. I can’t do anything other than give it 100 per cent.”

He added: “Noel Coward’s advice on acting was to ‘speak clearly and don’t bump into the furniture’. I’m going to have to speak clearly and make sure these dancers don’t bump into me.”

The show, which won Best Entertainment and Family at the 2014 Olivier Awards, will this year run for eight weeks, with a score from Martin Ward and narration written by former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion.

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