Celebrating 30 Years in Show Business
Gill Sherry
When Liam Dolan told his Careers Advisor at Kilmarnock’s St Joseph’s Academy that he wanted to be a children’s television presenter, her response was somewhat predictable: “I think you need to think more about a trade.”
But Liam wasn’t to be put off, and ten years later he was presenting children’s TV live from the Television Centre in London.
By that time, he had plenty of entertainment experience under his belt, including a stint with Borderline Theatre Company in Ayr, where it all began.
“I was touring with Borderline… it would pay a wage, but it would also get you your Equity card, which back in the day was a huge thing.”
He’d also grown to love that fabulous British tradition, the pantomime.
“My first panto was in Glenrothes in 1995. I started rehearsing on the day of my 18th birthday, which was amazing because I’d always loved panto. I’d always been involved in the amateur side of it… at the Youth Theatre in Kilmarnock, and I’d worked at the Palace Theatre as stage crew. I’d played the goose in Mother Goose, and then had the opportunity to do a commercial panto in Glenrothes.”
Liam was also a Red Coat at Butlins and was part of the entertainment team for Disney Cruise Line in America.
“When I was on the cruise ships my cousin wrote to me to say there was a programme on tele and that Jamie Theakston was running around looking for new faces for the BBC. It was a programme called BBC Talent and they were looking for sports reporters, news presenters… and someone to be the new face of CBBC’s The Broom Cupboard. So I applied when I came home. 14,500 people applied, then it went down to 1,000, down to 86, down to 23, down to three, and then they had a televised programme where we had to interview S Club 7 and do a piece to camera. The studio audience voted, and I won my job on the tele!”
He was just 21 years old at the time but moved to London without hesitation and began what was to be a fabulous career in television. But Liam never forgot his roots and has chosen Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre to stage his upcoming show, An Audience With Liam Dolan – Celebrating 30 Years in Showbusiness. Which is fitting, seeing as he’s known as ‘Mr Pavilion’.
“For years I was in the Kilmarnock Palace Theatre – a 12-year stint in the panto – so I was always associated with Kilmarnock. Then I made the move to Glasgow… but to be Mr Pavilion is a huge honour because there are so many people who have paved the way for me to do that, previous Mr Pavilions, if you like, and I’m totally honoured to be remotely associated with them.”
It’s a humble response, but there’s no denying Liam’s popularity. In fact, a number of other showbiz favourites will be contributing to his show on 14th February.
“It’s like the programme An Audience With… I grew up watching it and absolutely loved the concept of it. So to celebrate 30 years of my career, I’m doing a stage version of that. There are invited guests from Scottish theatre, television, variety and radio who will be there to ask questions, and for those who can’t make it I’ve got them on the video screen asking the questions they would’ve asked had they been in the audience.”
And does he have anything Valentine-related up his sleeve?
“There are a few surprises… a few things in development at the moment. It’s definitely themed. But the audience will see something that’s not done very often. The show is a nod and a homage to the yesteryear of traditional variety shows. It’s like when you used to get the Gaiety Whirl in Ayr, and the Saturday Night Special or Summertime Special on television. I’ve always been a fan of these things so I love that people can come and see something like that and that I can actually do something that I loved growing up watching.”
It sounds like a slice of pure nostalgia, not just for the audience but for Liam too.
“One hundred percent! There’s nothing better than the drum roll and the introduction and you come on stage and there’s an audience waiting. It’s brilliant, it’s such an adrenalin rush. It’s also the most nerve-racking thing!”
He must be guaranteed a great reception from a Glasgow audience, though?
“Yes, generally the people in Kilmarnock and Glasgow are all just really lovely.”
Although much of his career has involved entertaining children, he has made it clear that his upcoming show is not for young kids.
“I’m telling timeless jokes. They’re clean and they’re for the family… but the variety show is for over 14s. There are characters and caricatures and impersonations, but no five-year-old wants to see me dressed up in a mini skirt as Britney Spears!”
The fact that it’s a variety show reflects Liam’s versatility when it comes to entertainment. Does he have a preference, I wonder? Would he choose TV presenting over stand-up, for example, or performing in a panto over writing one?
“The variety of it is brilliant. This year there’s a couple of things in the pipeline. The standard things are my own show and the panto, but it’s the other stuff that comes in that you’re not expecting… that’s what keeps it fresh and interesting. Variety is the spice of life!”
So, if you fancy adding a bit of spice to your life, tickets for Liam’s variety show are available from www.trafalgartickets.com.
