Eastbourne bred actor on stage in Blood Brothers

Robbie Scotcher, a former Hampden Park School pupil, appears alongside Lyn Paul in the UK tour of the infamous musical.

The five day run at the newly refurbished Congress marks the end of the year long tour and 42-year-old Robbie is looking forward to performing in his home town.

“It feels amazing,” said Robbie during the show’s run at Sunderland prior to arriving in Eastbourne. “I have never performed on the Congress stage professionally so it is very exciting. I did when I younger in amateur dramatic productions and also worked there as stage crew on West Side Story but that was before I knew that I wanted to be an actor.”

Robbie was in his 20s when he felt the pull of the theatre and after working in Eastbourne as an estate agent, for Hastings Direct and later in a holiday camp and singing on a cruise ship, he spent a year at the London School of Musical Theatre.

In the intervening years he has appeared in numerous theatre and film roles, been in touring productions on cruise ships and spent two years appearing in Mamma Mia in the West End. In his spare time he returns home to visit friends in Eastbourne, see his parents Christine and Peter and support his beloved football team Crystal Palace.

Next week he stars with former New Seekers member Lyn Paul for the moving story of two brothers separated at birth only to be reunited by a twist of fate and a mother’s haunting secret.

When Lyn Paul’s Mrs Johnstone, a young mother, is deserted by her husband and left to her own devices to provide for seven hungry children, she takes a job as a housekeeper in order to make ends meet.

It’s not long before her brittle world crashes around her when she discovers herself to be pregnant yet again – this time with twins. In a moment of weakness and desperation, she enters a secret pact with her employer which leads inexorably to the show’s shattering climax.

While Robbie has been in the show for the last year, Lyn Paul first played her in 1997 and on numerous tours as well as in the final West End performances in 2012.

Lyn, who rose to fame in the early 1970s as a member of the New Seekers, whose biggest hit was I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, said, “I am beyond thrilled to be returning to Blood Brothers in this iconic role. I’m honoured to have been given the opportunity to undertake this farewell tour by my good friend Bill Kenwright.”

Critics say a sensational cast, brilliant book, show stopping music, remarkable staging and five-star performances make Blood Brothers an enthralling night of entertainment.

Tickets can be booked at online and printed at home from www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk or by calling the box office on 412000.