Marc Baylis will be playing Hugo Pompidou in the Blackpool Grand Theatre’s pantomime of Beauty and the Beast from Friday 5th December to Sunday 4th January, and he will be working with Kitty Harris as Belle, Steve Royle as Louis La Plonk and Betty Legs Diamond as Polly La Plonk, and Beauty and the Beast will be Marc’s return to pantomime and live theatre. On screen, Marc is well-known for playing Rob Donovan in Coronation Street alongside a cast including Alison King as his sister Carla, and his character was imprisoned for murdering Tina McIntyre, and Marc reprised his role earlier this year for a storyline involving his character. Amongst Marc’s further screen projects, he has had guest appearances in episodes of Whitstable Pearl and London Kills, played Marie in the 2020 short film My Dad Marie, and he played Charlie in (and was the producer of) sci-fi thriller film Arcadia. Also working in voiceover, Marc has recorded for video games including Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Battlefield V, and he previously worked on stage and was in the cast of the West End transfer of Jerusalem with Mark Rylance. Answering our questions, we found out from Marc about his return to pantomime and stage playing Hugo Pompidou in Beauty and the Beast at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Friday 5th December, his time as Rob Donovan in Coronation Street over the years and working on video games including Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Battlefield V.

You are set to play Hugo Pompidou in Blackpool Grand Theatre’s pantomime of Beauty and the Beast, how would you describe the character and what can audiences expect from your portrayal?

Hugo will be a lot of fun to play. He will be by far the most arrogant character I’ve ever portrayed. He literally thinks of no one but himself and hopes to have Belle added to his trophy cabinet. There is lots of comedy and plenty of laughs to be enjoyed.

How are you preparing to play Hugo Pompidou and how has it been reading the script for the first time?

I had a few belly laughs on my first read through the script so it will be a case of bringing these moments to life in the rehearsal room. I’m currently preparing the accent and looking forward to getting started with the team.

Have you seen Beauty and the Beast as a pantomime previously and have you worked with any of this year’s cast (which includes Kitty Harris as Belle, Steve Royle as Louis La Plonk and Betty Legs Diamond as Polly La Plonk) before?

I’ve neither seen Beauty and the Beast as a pantomime or worked with any of the other cast members. I’m sure, after meeting the team earlier in the autumn, that we will have a great time and a brilliant production!

How does it feel to be returning to pantomime and live theatre and how different do you find stage work to filming and voiceover?

I love working in the theatre as it’s where I started, it always feels like going home. You can’t match the live element of theatre and pantomime is brilliant fun. Anything can happen! It’s a completely different process to filming and voiceover as we have much more rehearsal time. It’s great to mix it up.

What are you looking forward to most for opening in Beauty and the Beast and performing at Blackpool Grand Theatre over Christmas?

I’m so excited to be working at the Grand for the first time, it’s a truly iconic and beautiful building. I’ve also heard about how fantastic the Blackpool audiences are so I’m looking forward to having a great time with everyone who comes to see the show.

Why would you recommend booking tickets to see Beauty and the Beast, which is running in Blackpool from Friday 5th December to Sunday 4th January?

So many reasons, we have a fantastic company, a wonderful script and some brilliant music to be enjoyed. We are going to be having a lot of fun this year so come and join in!!

This year, you reprised your character of Rob Donovan in Coronation Street; how was it returning to the show and filming a new storyline?

I feel very honoured to play Rob. The Corrie team have always written some great stories for me to play and this one was a great challenge. It’s always brilliant to pop in and see everyone. I loved that we had chance to film outside of the prison and it was a joy to be back filming in the Barlows’ house.

What did you enjoy most about playing a soap villain and what was Rob like to play?

Rob is great to play as there are no boundaries with him. He always has something up his sleeve and he has a bit of everything – the charmer, the romantic, the angry young man and then the most loyal person could all be within the same scene and he always keeps people guessing what’s next. A dream role.

What are some of your stand-out memories from working on Coronation Street over the years, and have you had any favourite scenes/episodes to film?

Oh, there are so many amazing memories, you can’t beat filming a big Christmas scene in the Rovers with all the cast or a stunt on the cobbles like the Tina fall off the balcony. However, if I had to pick one episode, it would probably be the two-hander scenes that Alison King and I had in the aftermath of the Tina murder. We had some wonderful scripts and the two of us have a blast playing Rob and Carla together.

How was it filming guest episodes of Whitstable Pearl as Paul Thomas and London Kills as Andrew Charr?

The roles and programmes were very different to work on. They both have great casts, were a joy to be a part of and worlds away from Coronation Street. The characters both had something for me to get my teeth into and were both in challenging situations.

Can you tell us about the 2020 short film My Dad Marie and how was it telling the story as Marie?

My Dad Marie is a film I’m very proud of. It’s about a family that are trying to work their way through a very difficult scenario and a very grounded and earthy story. The film has been very well-received on the festival circuit and a privilege to be a part of it.

What was it like being involved with the sci-fi thriller film Arcadia as Charlie and how did you find the experience being a producer?

Arcadia was a fantastic project to have been involved with and co-produce. The director and writer Tom Large and I started developing the film whilst I was still working on Corrie in 2015. We managed to raise enough funding to start production and filmed in Anglesey with a very small crew. We had a great time and hope that people enjoyed the film. I loved being more involved during the developing side of the film than I would normally.

Also a voice actor, you have recorded for video games including Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Battlefield V, what are these like to work on?

It’s great fun being in the voice studios. A lot of the material I recorded was high octane and big battle scenes, which is great fun. It takes a lot of stamina. Assassin’s Creed was immense as there were a few characters that I played which was a great challenge.

On stage, you played Danny Whitworth and understudied Troy Whitworth in the West End transfer of Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre, what was the show like to be part of?

By far the biggest landmark of my stage career. I joined the cast to cover paternity leave and played Troy alongside Mark Rylance. The show was just remarkable and it was incredible to be a small part of it. What a performance from Mark which will always be talked about. A job I will always remember fondly.

Where does your love of acting come from and how did you get into it?

I started in school when I was around 13. Initially I was just having a bit of fun and it grew from there. I was very fortunate to have a brilliant teacher and a positive introduction. It was around the same time that I discovered Shakespeare and the two went hand in hand.

What are some of your favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch?

Too many to choose from… I love so many genres of film but to give an idea – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Dark Knight, Interstellar, E.T., Back to the Future, Once Upon a time in America, The Big Lebowski, Kramer vs. Kramer… I could go on… TV-wise – Breaking Bad and Mad Men. I love new writing in the theatre but some of my favourite plays are Death of a Salesman, People, Places & Things, and obviously Jerusalem.

How do you like to spend your free time?

With my incredible wife and children.

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