GROWING old isn't much fun, we're told, but septuagenarian actor Paul Nicholas seems to have missed that particular memo.
The 1980s heartthrob and Just Good Friends star is now 78 and although his trademark curly blond locks are long since gone, he continues to energise the stage – this time as charming retiree Douglas in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opening in Belfast in June.
Based on the Sunday Times bestseller which inspired one of the much-loved film, the show – about an eclectic group of older people re-locating to India – is currently on tour across Britain, boasting a cast of household names including new cast member Tessa Peake-Jones of (BBC's Only Fools and Horses and ITV's Grantchester).
For Nicholas, the role seems the perfect fit, having already road-tested the 'British retirees abroad' venture for real as a participant in the television series, The Real Marigold Hotel, alongside other 'ageing' celebrities – among them Northern Ireland's former snooker champion, Dennis Taylor.
"That reality show was very interesting in that it gave me a real feel for India and you retain that memory when you're on stage," says the actor who started out with a pop career but found greater success in television and musical theatre, both as a performer and producer.
"You kind of bring a little of that experience with you on stage, so taking part in The Real Marigold Hotel in India was really helpful for this current role."
Ironically, he didn't get to see much of the country when filming, but he and Taylor became good friends and visited the "birthplace of snooker" - the famous Ooty Club in Ooty in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu where the game originated in 1875.
"Dennis was the first professional snooker player to visit the club and play on the actual table where the game was invented," enthuses Nicholas, himself an amateur fan of the green baize.
"Unfortunately, he was playing me, but you can't have everything..."
Snooker skills aside, his first visit to India left him contemplating old age with renewed enthusiasm and consequently seizing the chance to bring Deborah Moggach's bestselling 2004 novel vibrantly to life on stage.
The touring production again takes audiences on an exotic journey to India, as experienced though the eyes of retirees who find themselves taking risks, finding love and embracing second chances at the past-its-best Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Essentially a 'coming of old age' comedy with Bollywood music setting the scene, the story also shines a light on more serious issues such as care in later years, failing health and complex family relationships, as well as love and companionship in the twilight years.
"It's funny and well written – all the quirks and different attitudes that older people have surface throughout the play," says Nicholas.
"People will recognise themselves. We have a good cast, young cast members as well, so it's a lovely mixture of old and young, English and Indian cultures coming together.
"There's one great line in it, which I love – we don't talk about being old, we just say that we've been young for a very long time."
Returning to theatre in his late 70s is a source of joy for the actor who, as well as television – particularly long-running 1980s sitcom, Just Good Friends – is well known for musical theatre roles, among them Claude in the 1968 London premiere of Hair and the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar when it opened in 1972.
He also starred as Danny Zuko in the original West End production of Grease with Elaine Paige and showed off some nimble footwork as Rum Tum Tugger in the original production of Cats.
A 2021 autobiography, Musicals, Marigolds & Me, takes a close-up look at it all in good-humoured detail, while a three-CD box set, Paul Nicholas Gold, was released the same year, charting his pop and musical career. An audio version of his book – which he reads himself – is also due for release.
So, what keeps this grandfather and great grandfather going? "Laughing, travelling, working – all of those things – particularly working," he says, speaking to me before curtain-up in Aberdeen.
"I think the secret to having energy at this stage of life is to love what you're doing. Also, the world has opened up more to older people who can now travel to places that just didn't seem accessible years ago. People are happy to take these opportunities and I, for one, am very grateful."
In terms of exercise, he's not a fan of organised fitness and doesn't bother with the gym. "The fact I have a tortoise I think says a lot about me," he quips, good-naturedly.
"We have a week off next week and I'm going to go and stay with my son, so I have to put Toby in a special tortoise B&B. I totally recommend owning a tortoise – they don't bark, which in my view is a very good thing, they eat very little and you don't have to take them for walks."
Although the moniker suggests otherwise, Toby is in fact a she – a fact that only came to light after a trip to the vet's about five years ago. "I used to leave him, or rather 'her', out overnight in a little hutch and one morning I went to bung in some lettuce in and say, 'Good morning', and noticed her little face slightly chewed," Nicholas laments.
"I think a fox or rat might have been the culprit. Anyway, she was with the vet for four weeks and at the end of the four weeks, I got a bill for 1,500 quid which made me want to ask if she had used the minibar..."
Home is still London with Linzi, his wife of 39 years, and following the final show in Coventry in June, he is looking forward to returning there and to the comfort of his own bed.
"We might go somewhere on holiday, but it will just be nice to be home after living out of a suitcase for so long," he says.
"I love this show, though, and luckily the audiences seem to love it too. It's fantastic to get that kind of reception at the end of the evening, where everyone is clapping along to our little dance and enjoying the final moments. I'm not sure what makes it so special, maybe it's the comedy and pathos that fit so well together, or maybe it's just the realisation that life, fun – and a little romance – don't have to end when you're 70."
:: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel comes to the Grand Opera House, Belfast, on June 10. goh.co.uk
