WHEN actor Tim Potter arrives in Blackpool next week (March 12) as part of a nationwide tour it will feel more like a homecoming than work.

The 38-year-old is taking to the Grand Theatre stage in the West End comedy Hysteria.

And for Tim it will be a return to the area where he spent much of his formative years.

"I lived in Poulton from the age of four to seven and have some very happy memories," he said.

"Since then I have been back a couple of times and always enjoyed myself. I have just moved to Brighton, so you could say I am at home by the sea."

Tim is equally at home on stage, having acted professionally for more than 15 years.

His talent stems from his childhood when he would answer the telephone as Hilda Baker.

"It fooled a few people," he joked. "I was always watching television and mimicking people's voices."

A spell in drama school proved successful and since then Tim hasn't looked back, appearing in countless theatre and screen productions including Soldier Soldier and The Chief.

"For Hysteria he has taken over the mantle of Salvador Dali, something he is totally comfortable with.

He explained: "It is such a good role and a fantastic play which has gone down very well so far.

"Although I have been lucky to have had a lot of different parts in my career, I do seem to play a lot of eccentrics.

"But I am very much a character actor and like to play different types of people."

Fylde folk can catch Tim in Hysteria from March 12-16.

Tickets range from £6.50-£14.50 and are available from the box office on 28372.

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