THE FIRST Rum Tum Tugger in Cats; the first Barnum in the touring show of the same name; long-standing heart-throb; and now playing a transsexual! Popular actor Paul Nicholas obviously isn't afraid to take on a challenge.

The one-time Just Good Friends star is appearing at the Blackpool Grand this week in Mixed Feelings, a new comedy by Rising Damp writer, Eric Chappell.

Paul plays Vernon - 'married for years, in a rut' - who disappears for six months and returns a changed man, quite literally!

"It's a comedy about a middle-aged man, married with a daughter. He has a sex change operation in Casablanca, comes back and presents himself as a woman to his family, his friends and his boss. It's really about their reaction," Paul explains.

And as will all good comedy, there's more than a grain of truth in the writing, he adds.

"You can just imagine people saying in real life what they say in the play.

"You would think it would be difficult to find humour in it and still retain some sort of dignity for the character but in fact the humour comes from the sincerity that he has and the remarks of the others."

How the play will be received in Blackpool - a town with a thriving transsexual community - is anyone's guess.

Reactions while preparing for the play have ranged from men sidling out of the room when he's in costume, to women fussing over his clothes and shoes.

But despite the fun - and choosing his costume so he doesn't look 'like mutton dressed as lamb' - Paul doesn't intend to offend.

"I don't think in any way it denigrates what transsexual might go through. They do go through a terrible amount of pain, both emotionally and physically," he says.

Catch Paul Nicholas with co-stars Mary Tamm (Brookside, Doctor Who) and John Benfield (Prime Suspect) in Mixed Feelings at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool, until Saturday (May 1). For tickets call the box office on 290190.