Wild party? I prefer an early night

In the 70s he vied with David Cassidy and Donny Osmond for space on the wall of every teenage girl's bedroom. Everywhere he went, he was mobbed by hordes of screaming fans.

But, as he looks forward to a hectic 2014 which will see him take part in two major productions in the West Midlands, one-time teen heart-throb David Essex says far from being a party animal, he would sooner be sat in front of his TV with a cup of tea watching Newsnight.

"I'm definitely one of life's introverts," says the man who has spent half a century in the public eye.

"I'm the sort of person you will always find hiding away in the kitchen at parties."

At the height of his fame, the kitchen was about the only place he could hide. At one concert, a young fan risked her life by jumping 20ft from a box seat just to get near him – thankfully she survived.

He says he is perplexed at the way so many young people today seem to see fame as being almost an end in itself.

"The bedroom poster thing was something I never courted," says the actor, singer and songwriter.

"I never wanted fame and fortune, that was not my priority at all, I just wanted to do what I enjoyed, and the fame came from that.

"If your priority is to have fame and fortune, that's a pretty grim and empty existence."

David, who made his name playing the role of Jesus in the West End production of Stephen Schwartz's Biblical musical Godspell in 1971, will be coming to the West Midlands for two very different productions over the coming months.

From now until February 15, he will be starring in the world premiere of Canadian writer Morris Panych's new play Dishwashers at the newly-refurbished Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He will then be back in the city on June 27 for the Once In a Lifetime Tour, where he will be joined on the stage of the LG Arena by fellow 70s singing sensations The Osmonds, Showaddywaddy and Les McKeown's Legendary Bay City Rollers. David says he has a huge affinity to the area, having performed here countless times over more than half a century in showbusiness.

"I love Wolverhampton, they're really fantastic people," he says.

"I've performed at Symphony Hall, the Grand and the Civic Hall, and there's always a great atmosphere."

And he is pleased as punch that he will be one of the first actors to perform at the Birmingham Rep, which has undergone extensive refurbishment as part of the £189 million Birmingham Library development.

Dishwashers, which tells the stories of three restaurant workers who have ended up washing the crocks for different reasons, opened last night and runs for a fortnight before moving for a run in London's West End.

"Birmingham Rep has a wonderful reputation and I am looking forward to being part of the new season there," says David.

He says the play was discovered by the theatre producer Lee Dean, who sent him a copy of the script.

"He was desperate for me to do it," says David.

"I wasn't sure at the time, I've been working on lots of films – I've just finished Meet The Guvnors – and I was reluctant to do eight shows a week.

"But when I saw the script I decided I had to do it. I think it is so witty."

David plays Dressler, a veteran dishwasher and amateur philosopher, who has been working for years with his friend Moss. When they are joined in the kitchen by Emmett, a young, former City whizzkid who is now down on his luck, it leads Dressler to evaluate the peculiarities of their lives.

David also admits to some reservations when he was asked to do the Once In a Lifetime tour – and not just about the workload.

"When I was first called about doing this tour, I thought 'why would I want to do that?'," he admits.

"I've never been that much of one for all these nostalgia tours, you have to be very careful or people think you're just stuck in the 1970s.

"I've always been one for doing new things, I firmly believe you have to look forward rather than look back, but when I talked to people, they all said 'you've got to do it'.

"When you think that it all means so much to people. You look around, and many of the kids who came to see me years ago are in their 50s now, and they have remained loyal."

David is now 66, but shows little sign of slowing down. As he takes a breather in his hotel room, he talks about the painstaking effort that has gone into his latest album, Reflections, and how it will inevitably be critically compared to what he has done before.

"It has taken me two years to make this album," he says.

"It's got new songs on it, but it has also got new interpretations of the the old favourites, such as Rock On, Lamplight, and Gonna Make You a Star.

"People think a lot of the original, and you have to take a lot of care, you can't rush things."

After a five-month stint in EastEnders as antique dealer Eddie Moon – "It's long hours. If you can do EastEnders, you can do anything" – he has also recently completed two films. In the newly-released Traveller, he appears alongside his own son, 25-year-old Billy Cook, in a story about a young man seeking his identity among the gipsy community.

David, who also provided the Celtic-influenced soundtrack for the film, is himself the grandson of an Irish traveller, so it was a project which was very close to his heart.

"My grandfather was a travelling tinker in Cork, so it wasn't going to be Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, but a real study into their community," he says.

"We were given the trust of real travellers, many of whom were extras, and we filmed on their site. We earned their trust, which isn't easy to do."

Perhaps reflecting a natural caution which comes with his years in the business, he says he was initially a little concerned when Billy first landed the role.

"He got the lead part first and I thought that was great but it was a bit of a gamble because he hadn't done much," he says.

Then the producers approached David about playing a character called Blackberry, the head of the gipsy clan.

"My character is the head of the community, somebody who's got a big heart but doesn't show it too much.

"I read the script and I was very struck with the spirituality of his journey. Billy plays a character who's half gipsy and half non-gipsy and it's about where he belongs in all that."

And he says any doubts about his son's suitability for the part vanished when the pair shot their first scene together.

"I was just blown away,"he says.

"I just thought he was so truthful and focussed, so I didn't worry anymore. I thought he's going to be fine."

David's other new film, Meet The Guvnors, also tackles the subject of differences between the generations, but in a very different setting. Based around the gangland underworld of south-east London, it is a tale of violent turf wars between the gangs of older hooligans and the young rivals fighting to take their place.

With the flowing black locks long gone, having made way for a neatly trimmed silver beard, David is in no doubt which side of the generation divide he is on these days, although the trademark glint in his piercing blue eyes betray a man who is probably more comfortable in his own skin than at any time in his life.

"I'm 66 now, so I would like to think I have learned a few things over the years," he says.

And he shows little desire for a return to the days when his every move was followed by gangs of groupies and a blaze of flashbulbs.

"It's all so much easier now," he says. "I'm not on anybody's bedroom wall, people are very respectful now."

* For tickets to the Once In a Lifetime tour, which is at the LG Arena on June 27 visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk

By Mark Andrews