Gareth enjoys revolutionary new role

" Can I just say that I'm working on my speech, so I'm going to be taking this interview slowly."

Gareth Gates won the nation's heart eight years ago when as a cherub-faced 17-year-old he bravely struggled with his stammer on national television in Pop Idol, and he clearly continues to battle with his speech. Miraculously, the affliction doesn't affect him when singing. And just as his pitch-perfect voice saw him beat thousands to become runner-up to Will Young on the TV talent show, so it has also won him his dream role as Marius in Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables.

For many, Gareth is not the obvious choice for the role, but his mummy's boy good looks have matured, his voice has developed and lost its teen-idol sound and he is garnering rave reviews for his performance in this much-anticipated show.

"It's been going really well," says Gareth. "We're performing in Paris at the minute, which is wonderful. The show is great and I'm really enjoying myself."

Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel of the same name, Les Misérables is set during the 1832 French Uprising and follows the intertwining stories of a cast of characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. It's an epic story that packs in all the big emotions: anger, love, grief, guilt and despair.

The show, which features classic songs such as I Dreamed A Dream, On My Own, Stars, Bring Him Home and Do You Hear The People Sing?, has become one of the world's most successful musicals since opening a quarter of century ago. With new staging and spectacular re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Hugo, this new 25th anniversary production has already been acclaimed by critics, fans and new audiences and is breaking box office records across the UK.

"This production is massively different," reveals Gareth. "It's a brand new take on it; a fresh interpretation of the original book itself. I'm honoured to be involved in creating this new production. It's such a fabulous career move for me as both a singer and aspiring actor and a wonderful experience as well."

Gareth attributes some of the show's new-found popularity to another singer who, like Gareth, launched her career on reality TV and has been shaped by impresario Simon Cowell.

He tells me: "By singing I Dreamed A Dream on Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle introduced a new audience to the music of Les Misérables. We've really been able to see that in the crowds that we've been attracting."

So how does stepping out in stage musicals compare with the glitz and glamour of the pop lifestyle that Gareth enjoyed at the height of his fame?

"I'm very new to musical theatre. The only other thing I've done is Joseph in the West End, and it is a very different world. It's good to be part of a team and it's so enjoyable to be able to perform eight times a week in front of a live audience. Surprisingly, you don't always get that opportunity in the pop world."

And for a man with a speech impediment as debilitating as Gareth's, not to mention a lack of acting experience, he must feel that his latest role, and the acclaim he has received for it, is a huge achievement?

"It really is. I'm working on my speech and the more I do the show, the better actor I'm becoming."

Although he is having problems today, the likeable singer has been able to control the stammer to a large extent thanks to the McGuire Programme.

He explains: "I'm part of a speech therapy programme that teaches you a new way to breathe; a new way to speak. But I have my ups and downs, particularly recently with me being a new father and everything else that comes with that – lack of sleep and very little time to do breathing exercises."

Gareth and wife Suzanne have a 15-month-old daughter, Missy, and despite his hectic schedule, he's adamant that he will miss out on as little family time as possible.

"I often tour my family with me, which is wonderful to be able to do otherwise it would have been too long without them. It's all working out really well for me."