By Michelle Norris
ESTABLISHED as one of Britain’s most popular and best-loved entertainers, Des O’Connor has remained a household favourite for over four decades.
As the only UK entertainer to have hosted a mainstream TV show for 45 consecutive years, Des prides himself on anchoring Des O’Connor Tonight, Take Your Pick, Today with Des and Mel and most recently Countdown.
I caught up with Des last week ahead of his latest tour An Evening With, which will be coming to Chelmsford, Southend and Hornchurch this summer, and he was as lovely off-stage as on.
“To me this isn’t a job – I haven’t done a day’s work since I got into showbusiness!” chuckles Des, who landed his first television series in the UK in 1963. “Just to get paid for something I love is incredible.”
So, with a career in television spanning over four decades – earning him a CBE in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours list – and 36 albums with sales of over 16 million to his name, what are Des’s best moments?
“Have you got a few hours to spare?” laughs the 78-year-old. “I guess receiving a plaque for my 1,000th live solo show is a great highlight. But having an audience in front of you roaring with laughter and giving you a standing ovation is also a great feeling.”
But there’s more to Des’s life than entertaining the masses, as he proved in 2004 with the birth of his fifth child – Adam.
“He’s a great little guy in my life and has helped me to remember to take care of myself more, because I just don’t know how long I’m going to be around for” says a realistic Des. “So now, I’m eating healthily and exercising – although you don’t want to exercise too much or you’ll end up putting yourself in a box!
“But right now I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve got an album out, a tour and I’m working on some children’s programmes for television all inspired by Adam. So things are going really well.”
And, although he has faced much criticism over the years – most famously from comedy duo Morecambe and Wise – Des has always maintained his loveable sense of humour and even appeared on the Morecambe and Wise Christmas special in 1975 in a sketch mocking him.
“I’ve had all the insults over the years, but I never got offended by the jokes,” he says. “It was all really for fun and effect and to be honest, I never really minded it.
“At the end of the day I have produced 36 albums, so after the insults, I just take a moment and think ‘hang on – I can sing’!”
And Des has proved this time again, most recently with the release of his latest album Inspired, which gave him the chance to work with Alan Hawkshaw, who has collaborated with legends such as Elvis and Barbara Streisand.
“He’s an absolute genius,” says Des of Alan Herskshaw. “He was very complimentary and told me to forget the jokes and just listen to what I was doing.”
However, even though he has a successful career in both television and music, Des admits that being on the stage is what he loves the most.
“The thing I do best will always be live shows,” continues Des.
“Even though I’ve spent 45 years in television and had fabulous conversations with so many different people, there’s nothing like performing on a live stage.
“It’s the real test and if you manage to keep your audience still yelling for more at the end, you know you’ve done a good job.”
Indeed, Des lives for the thrill of a live show and will be bringing his latest tour An Evening With to the Civic Theatre in Chelmsford next week – and he can’t wait!
“This show is absolutely fantastic because everything that happens in the first half is purely by accident,” he explains.
“Of course in the second half we’ve got the cream of musicians, but I simply open the show by asking the audience if they’ve got any problems that they’d like to talk about or play on the piano.
“I remember the other week someone came up on stage and started playing music for morris dancing,” he recalls. “I didn’t have any ribbons or bells but I performed the best I could!
“It’s like a big party, which is something you never really get from TV and if you’re sitting in the audience, you’ll know that what’s happening now didn’t happen yesterday!”
Don’t miss An Evening with Des O’Connor when it arrives at the Civic Theatre in Chelmsford on 6 June.
For tickets call the Box Office on 01245 606505. Alternatively, you can catch Des O’Connor at The Palace Theatre in Southend on 27 August and 26 September at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch.
For more information visit www.desoconnornow.com.