He was once one of the most hated people in the country but now actor Alex Ferns is back in Kent with a play from the wizards of whodunnit who penned classics Murder She Wrote and Columbo.

You made a huge impact playing the abusive Trevor in EastEnders (from 2000 to 2002). Do people still recognise you from that role?

I get it now and then. I’m good at handling it now – I don’t think I was very good at handling it when it was happening. Although it stunted my career for a couple of years, I have no regrets because it was a great character.

I don’t think it was a typical soap character and hopefully I didn’t play him that way. I try and bring integrity and truth to whatever I do. I’m not interested in faking it. The feedback I got from people who’d been in similar awful situations was it was realistic and close to the bone. You don’t get a better take than that.

Do you prefer TV or stage work?

It would always be theatre for me. The interaction with the audience is incredible. You know when you’ve got them, you just feel it. When you bring people into the play and there’s a silence, it’s incredible.

What are your career highlights?

Definitely the highlight so far was doing True West in Glasgow and then at the Tricycle because Sam Shepard came to see it. It was just a dream come true. It was a part and a play that I’d wanted to do since I was 21. It was the first play I read at drama school and I could happily kick the bucket now knowing that I’ve done that. There’s something about Sam Shepard’s writing that always intrigued me. I’m interested in Americana, the desert culture, the loner culture and that play encompasses all that. It was a joy.

What attracted you to Rehearsal For Murder?

Bill Kenwright sent me the script, which is great. When I met Roy Marsden, the director, I said I wanted to do it because I really wanted to work with him.

Without giving too much away, what can you tell us about it?

I play Alex Dennison, a writer whose wife-to-be seemingly commits suicide on the night before their marriage. One year later, he collects a group of people together. One of them, he thinks, is guilty of her murder and he goes through the process of elimination. By the end we discover who did it. It’s a bit of a shocker when you find out. The whole thing is set in an empty theatre, so it works really well.

Are you a murder mystery fan?

Absolutely! That’s one of the reasons I did it. My wife and I are obsessed with Columbo, Murder She Wrote… I always feel I can sit down and have a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits with them.

What’s been the most enjoyable moment of this production so far?

For me, the most enjoyable moment is when the audience gets who the murderer is. There’s an audible gasp.

Have you worked with any of your co-stars before?

I did an Agatha Christie with Mark Wynter and Strangers On a Train with Anita Harris. It’s amazing how this career works. You’re thrown together, so we’re very good at becoming close very quickly, because we have no choice.

And how do you like touring?

I enjoy it. I take my golf clubs wherever I go. I’ll usually phone up a golf club and ask if there’s a three-ball that’s looking for someone to join them. I really enjoy meeting people from different cities. You get an insight into the community. With what’s happening nowadays, the more conversations we have and the more open we are to other people’s opinions, the better, I think.

Where are you most looking forward to visiting?

I’m looking forward to getting back to Glasgow. I’ve got a lot of family there, so I need to do the rounds. It will be exhausting. My mum’s given me a list of which aunties I have to see and what I have to take them. My days are going to be filled with seeing my family and making deliveries.

What can we expect from Rehearsal For Murder?

Expect to be shocked, scared and surprised. It’s a show that pulls the rug right from underneath you. You’re in for a good night, that’s for sure.

THE DETAILS

Rehearsal for Murder will be at The Orchard Theatre from Monday, September 19, to Saturday, September 24.
To book tickets from £17.50 visit orchardtheatre.co.uk or call 01322 220000.

THE INFO

Alex Ferns became “Britain’s most hated soap villain” as the abusive Trevor Morgan in EastEnders.

The husband of Little Mo Slater (played by Kacey Ainsworth), she was jailed for his attempted murder after hitting him over the head with an iron but was eventually killed in an explosion in a fire he threatened to start.

More recently, Alex has appeared in Kenneth Branagh’s Wallander, Ridley Scott’s Taboo and 24 alongside Kiefer Sutherland.

He also acted alongside Tom Hardy in the Kray twin biopic Legend last year, Romans with Orlando Bloom and The Legend of Tarzan.

In the Bill Kenwright whodunnit Rehearsal for Murder he appears alongside some big names from stage and screen.

From the pen of the writing team responsible for Murder She Wrote and Columbo, Richard Levinson and William Link, playwright Alex Dennison is heartbroken when his fiancée and leading lady Monica is found dead from an apparent suicide after the first night of her stage debut.

On the anniversary of the ill-fated night, Alex assembles the same cast and crew in the same theatre for a reading of his new play. But the play’s similarity to actual events becomes increasingly uncomfortable until it becomes clear that Alex believes Monica was murdered and he is about to uncover her killer.

Among the stars are Anita Harris, whose six-decade career included two Carry On films, Gary Mavers of ITV’s Peak Practice, Mark Wynter, who has had an almost-50-year acting career, and Lauren Drummond who has appeared in Holby City as nurse Chantelle Lane and Waterloo Road.