INTERVIEW: Multi-talented director of Shrek Nigel Harman

And when he played Simon Cowell last year in the short-lived West End show ‘I Can’t Sing! The X Factor Musical’ he certainly proved his versatility.

Despite his high-profile TV persona, Nigel says theatre has always been his first love’ – and he now has the ‘directing’ string to add to his accomplished ‘bow’.

Having won an Olivier award in 2012 for his role as Lord Farquaad in the original London production of Shrek he is thrilled to now be directing the UK tour that opened in Leeds last July and visits Southampton Mayflower from Wednesday, July 8, to Sunday, July 26.

Asked how he made the jump from actor to director he quipped: “I slept with all the right people!”

But seriously, he explains: “I was talking to (Shrek producer) Carol Newling at a party after the closing night of Shrek at Drury Lane.

She said: “I hear you are doing a bit of directing... “would you like to direct Shrek on Tour?”

“With ‘I Can’t Sing’ finishing, it all just fell into place!

"I said it was funny she mentioned it as I was going to say something about it to her but I didn’t think the party was the place.

"It was kind of fortunate that we read each other’s minds. I’m very, very lucky, but I did have a moment when we opened in Leeds and I looked at the £3million set and thought ‘Oh my God I’m in charge of all of this!’

"And now here I am one and a half years later and we have just introduced half a new cast which I’m really excited about.

"We have a new leading lady – Bronté Barbé (‘Princess Fiona) who is fantastic; if I could, I’d rehearse all the time!”

So does he enjoy directing more than acting?

“I enjoy both. I very much enjoy being involved in the creativity from the ground up and discussions for sets, costumes, etc.

"As an actor you are responsible for your little corner but here I get a chance to sit back and enjoy it all. We had to change the sets around a bit.

"Some sets are from the US tour and there was stuff we needed to cut and change and we had to cast it all.

"Now I’ve got my finger in all the pies, whereas Lord Farquaad only thought he did! I’m loving all the decision making, the production meetings, the backstage stuff.

Many have commented that the comedy element has been heightened since Nigel directed it.

He says: “It’s definitely a fun show. It has an energy and a heart and a joy. Dean Chisnall (Shrek) is a very funny man.

"I think the show is more moving and more funny and packs a punch more than ever before. It’s sharper and has more energy.

"I’ve kept the spirit of things alive and polished it up a bit. I was there every night for a year, so it’s very much in my blood. I can feel where every moment should be.”

How did it feel winning the Laurence Olivier award after playing 4ft tall Lord Farquaad on his knees?

“That was an incredibly special moment. When I won, my body didn’t know how to react. I was flushed with emotion.”

He explains that the character is a throwback to Vaudeville: “The actor who is playing a character who is himself playing a character: the man he’d really like to be. It’s that duality of humour the British love.”

He says people presumed he played the part on wheels and can’t believe he did the whole thing on his knees.

When he showed the current Farquaad, Gerard Carey, how to do it in rehearsals he thought: “Oh my god, I can’t believe I did this for a year.”

In fact, despite the knee pads, he had to have physio twice a week to cope with it.

Summing up Shrek’s success he points to its “simple message”: “Let your freak flag fly”.

“It doesn’t matter who you are in life, whether you’re a pig, a donkey or a maiden locked in a tower, stop striving to be this perfect image of someone else.

"That was what we all loved about the original film, wasn’t it.

"That this 6ft tall ogre with a body odour problem got the princess – and she turned out to be an ogre too.

"We’re all obsessed with image and how we fit in, so let’s step away from that.”

• Tickets: Mayflower Theatre Box Office, 02380 711811, or online at mayflower.org.uk.