Bognor
to Broadway
Bognor Regis boy Ben Richards has come good, with a string of
high-profile acting roles, he’s also an avid supporter of Sussex children’s
hospice Chestnut Tree House.
“I was originally a Bognor boy but I
moved away at 16 when I went to train
in musical theatre and acting and I have
more or less been living around London
ever since but working around the
country – and the world.
“I have done the West End but various
television shows as well. I suppose the
big change in my life was getting my role
on Footballers’ Wives – it’s such a big
show but a friend of mine who’d done
the season before said ‘look Ben, your
life is going to change once this comes
out’ and I told her it would be fine but she
said ‘no, seriously’ and sure enough, the
first day it went out and I walked down
the same street I’d always walked down
in Hertfordshire, all of a sudden people
were staring at me because they’d seen
the one episode.
“It was a weird feeling but I’d been
working for my whole career to get
to that point where you get some
recognition for what you do, so it was
great.
“I started when I was 11 or 12 or maybe
even younger than that. My sisters used
to go to dancing school and my mum
and I would go and pick them up and
wait at the back. I used to sort of try and
copy them tap dancing and the teacher
once said to me ‘look, would you like to
try and start?’ There were no boys in the
area doing it so it was quite a big step
12
but I started and I had an aptitude for it. I
carried on with all the other dance styles
– jazz and then ballet and I ended up
doing it every night after school.
“I got a little bit of stick for it and it was
all a bit strange as it wasn’t the done
thing but when they realised I had a
talent for it they supported me all the
way and have been very proud of my
achievements, which is great.
“I was 16 when I attended Laine
Theatre Arts in Epsom, I studied there
for three years which was amazing.
I learnt everything I needed to know
about singing, dancing and acting but
the acting side more