Ian Watkins is still best known as ‘H’ from pop group Steps but in recent years has been creating a successful solo career. Currently starring in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Kathryn Tye chatted to him ahead of the show’s arrival in Kent.

It has been almost two decades since 21-year-old Ian Watkins became one fifth of pop phenomenon Steps.

Since those early days, fame and fortune has changed his life irrevocably but one thing has remained constant – his nickname ‘H’.

Now 37, he said: “I was called H because I was hyperactive and that’s still true. And, however, much I try and go against the grain, I will always be called H. There’s no point battling against it now, I just go with it.”

H and his fellow Steps bandmates – Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Lisa Scott-Lee and Lee Latchford-Evans – enjoyed unprecedented success with their brand of catchy songs and dance moves, selling 20 million records worldwide thanks to hits such as 5,6,7,8, One for Sorrow and Tragedy.

The band split acrimoniously in 2001 but reunited two years ago for a Sky documentary which proved a huge hit with viewers, resulting in a successful greatest hits album and tour, although H describes it as a difficult period.

He said: “The reunion was unexpected and it was kind of like therapy. We talked about a lot of stuff that we hadn’t talked about in many years and I suppose the public were gripped by that. That turned into a No.1 album and an arena tour. It was a monster that nobody could stop. But I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it.

“It was a relief after it was over. Therapy isn’t enjoyable because you have to exorcise all your demons. Afterwards, when everything had been aired, that was fine but wading through the mud wasn’t such fun.”

H does admit to enjoying the wave of public support which Steps has received since the reunion, however.

“People didn’t like to admit that they were fans but now they are older and nostalgia’s kicked in and they don’t care about being cool anymore. They are flying the Steps flag loud and proud. We are a guilty pleasure. We won’t tour again this year, although we are talking about something in the future.”

But despite the reunion, H’s main focus remains his solo career, after years working hard to be seen as a credible performer.

Following the band’s split, he studied musical theatre at the Royal Academy of Music, then at the Stella Adler Studio in New York.

He said: “I was serious about what I wanted to do and wanted to be taken seriously by casting directors and directors.

“I have seen many musicals that just employ pop tarts that can’t act and there is no point in that. If you can’t actually portray a message or tell a story, then it is just karaoke.”

His efforts paid off and he made his West End debut in Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat in 2005, before going on to appear in shows including Fame and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Now H has decided to revisit the role of Joseph in the touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical.

He said: “My first time on stage was when I was nine years old, performing Joseph in my local amateur dramatics group. I played the youngest brother Benjamin and used to sit in the wings and watch the lead actor sing Close Every Door every night and wish it was me. Then it was my first West End job eight years ago.”

The show, a retelling of the Biblical story about Joseph, his 11 brothers and the coat of many colours, has a score full of memorable tunes, including Any Dream Will Do and is in the Guinness Book Of Records as the longest running musical of all time.

H added: “The show is so popular because it is a timeless tale and there is something for everybody in it.

“We have got talking camels, Elvis impersonators and me in a loincloth! If you want to bring your children along for their first introduction to theatre, it’s bright, colourful. They can sing along but there’s also a great moral message as well.”

H will be on tour with the show until Christmas and confesses his delight at the schedule which runs from Tuesday to Saturday, allowing for three days at home each week.

“I still live in Wales and am a real homebody. I have horses and go riding down the beach and cross country. I love what I do and as long as I keep on doing that, that’s great.”

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is at the Marlowe Theatre from Tuesday, September 17 to Saturday, September 21. Tickets from £18. Call 01227 787787.Ian ‘H’ Watkins will not be appearing in the 5pm performance on Friday, September 20.

The show will also be at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford from Tuesday, October 15 to Saturday, October 19. Tickets from £16. Call 01322 220000.