THE NEXT Cliff Richard or a bed-hopping ladies man? All-singing, all-dancing multi-talented star of stage and screen or just your average bloke blessed with above-average looks?

As far as celebrities go, Essex-born performer and "I'm a Celebrity..." star -- Darren Day -- had more than his fair share of condradictory media coverage over the years.

But, notorious as he is for his talent for wild partying and dating a bevy of small screen starlets, the elusive Mr Day has spent the last three years proving that there's more to him than meets the headline.

So as the hit musical Summer Holiday makes a welcome return to the resort, Citizen reporter, Lori Hudson, caught up with the man dubbed 'the nations favourite love-rat' to ask him what he's been up to and how it feels to be back on the Fylde coast.

"I've always had a soft spot for Blackpool and it's great to be back here," says Darren. "Especially in a role which has such happy memories for me.

"It's strange that, after ten years, I'm back here doing Summer Holiday and I'm about to go back to London to play in Joseph.

"These were the two shows that really catapulted me into the public eye and it's been very special to me getting back into the familiar roles.

"Three years ago I found that I was a bit bored playing the same nicey-nice characters," explains Darren. "I wanted more of a challenge so I took a break to concentrate on more diverse roles. Instead of going for the good-guy predictable romantic lead I signed up for projects where I could have a bit more of an edge.

"I've now played everything from a rapist to a bad boy wheeler and dealer and it was a wise thing to do because now that I've got that out of my system its been really great to slip back into shows like this.

"In many ways it's easier to play the bad guy because you can just let yourself go and also, for some reason, women seem to love a bloke who's a bit of a rat. That's not the way I see myself at all," says Darren. "Living in the public eye is demanding but I feel that acting is in my family's blood.

"My mum and dad weren't involved in the theatre or anything but grandad was in showbusiness.

"He was the support act for George Formby for a number of years. When I was a kid I used to love to listen to his funny stories and experiences.

"It was him that really inspired me to get into the industry.

"I used to go to a local kids drama workshop in my hometime in Colchester but originally my vocation in life looked to be totally different from a life in acting. My first love was snooker. I was the British Under 16s champion and played in loads of tournaments and events both in my area and up and down the country. It was actually Dennis Higgins who encouraged me to take up performing. Both him and Steve Davies were at a tournament where I played particularly badly and to deflect attention from my abysmal form I started doing Frank Spencer impressions. Afterwards he told me that they both thought I was really good and should maybe think about going into it full time.

"Which I did and have never really looked back. But I still like to keep up with my snooker, you never know..."

But -- despite his love of the business -- does Darren have any reservations for the future?

"I'm a bit worried about donning the loin cloth again," says Darren. "The last time I took to the stage wearing one I was ten years younger and I'm just hoping I can pull it off."