It has been nine years since actor Mark Rice-Oxley moved to Watford but he has never performed at the Palace Theatre - until now that is. The 35-year-old Liverpudlian has starred in BBC’s EastEnders and WPC56 as well as in West End hits such as Blood Brothers and David Copperfield. He is now appearing in the Palace's home-produced show, Poppy and George where he will be singing, playing the ukulele, the accordion and doing a whole load of accents and impersonations, including Nancy Astor - the first female MP.

“I often walk past Watford Palace on my way home having been at one of the theatres in London so I am really looking forward to performing there,” says Mark, who plays the role of Tommy - a musical artist trying to kick-start his career again after coming back from the World War One trenches.

Set in 1919 after the First World War, Poppy and George is a romantic drama which follows northerner Poppy Wright, who moves down to the East End to find her place in an uncertain world. She meets three men, Smith, Tommy and George and together they forge a friendship - laughing, drinking and placing bets.

“Before the war, Tommy had been quite successful, but now he is struggling to get back into it," says Mark. "It’s not only from the point of view that he hasn’t done it in a while, it’s just after seeing the horrors of war, this just seems frivolous and cheap, yet it is his job.”

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The father of two had his lucky break when he was chosen by Dame Judi Dench for an Evening Standard award, which allowed him to study at the Webber Douglas Drama School. He claims he doesn’t usually get nervous before a performance - in fact he gets more nervous at auditions.

“I was especially nervous when auditioning for this show as I was playing the piano and singing, which is always much more terrifying than acting.

“But I am particularly nervous about this because of the amount of music involved and the fact that at times my character is playing another character.

"There is one part where I tease Poppy and I am making up a song on the spot with the piano, so I am flicking between singing in her northern accent to Tommy’s cockney accent, which is tricky.

“I have been really lucky in that I have been involved in lots of high quality productions with great people, so usually by the time you get to the performance you really know what you are doing.”

Mark, who has worked with the likes of Michael Gamdon, who plays Professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films and Tim West, admits that things can still go wrong though on stage.

“When I was playing David Copperfield in the West End production, we got to one of the most famous bits of the book, Mr Micawber gives me advice about getting into debt and he has this well-known quote to say about happiness and death. One night just as he is about to deliver this famous line Mr Micawber fainted.

“It was quite a shock and we had to do that whole ‘is there a doctor in the house’, and pause the show while we checked he was okay. He was fine in the end - he was wearing a fat suit and he just got really hot.”

As an avid Liverpool FC supporter Mark admits that having Watford in the premier league has been somewhat problematic but, although he'd like his boy to be a fellow Red, he says he doesn't mind what team he supports as long as it's not Chelsea.

Mark says being from Liverpool has been great for his career too.

“I’ve played George Harrison in a movie about the Beatles, which is probably one of the highlights of my career. I’ve played one of the twins in Blood Brothers who was from Liverpool, which was also an amazing experience."

Mark, who also teaches singing, adds that acting is like his hobby and it is his colleagues that inspire him.

“I love working with other actors, because you can see how they are working, what they are bringing to the role and how it is changing and developing day by day. My favourite actors are the people that I have worked with and made friends with rather than celebrity names, although some of them are well known.”

He continues: “I think it is great that Watford will be getting such a high calibre show with quality actors and an amazing director - it’s a West End show for a fraction of the price.”

Poppy and George will be at Watford Palace Theatre February 12-27. Details: 01923 225671, watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk