Norman Pace talks ahead of Hairspray dates at Birmingham Hippodrome

He’s presently on the road in Hairspray, the 15-minute blitzkrieg of scintillating fabulousness. The all-singing, all-dancing, all-action musical is set in Baltimore, 1962.

It tells the story Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger dream: to dance her way onto national TV, and into the heart of teen idol Link Larkin. Tracy’s audition makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for integration. But can she win equality – and Link’s heart – without denting her ‘do?

The feel-good musical features the hit songs Welcome To The 60s, You Can’t Stop The Beat, The Nicest Kids in Town and many more and has Norman smiling each and every night.

“I have to say that I know Hairspray is a very good show but this really is a tremendous production. Drew McOnie is the go-to choreographer in Broadway and the West End and has worked on this.

“They really pulled out all the stops to get the right people for the show. They went through 1,600 hopefuls before they settled on the 32 people that you see on on stage. It’s my first time in it and I’m loving it. A few of the guys have done this before but I’m the new boy, which is funny, since I’m also by far the oldest.”

Reaching the tender age of 64 – amid a cast of 20-somethings – is great fun for Norman. Being around the younger generation keeps him young.

“I love being with the kids. Their enthusiasm and joie de vivre is inspiring. I get up at the end of the show and we do You Can’t Stop the Beat. I love it. I do it eight times a week. Before I start, I know the audiences will love it and go mad. We’ve done 40-odd shows and every one has been a standing ovation.

“Seriously, you couldn’t wish for a better group. Last night, after the show in Blackpool, one of the guys from the show said he knew a bloke who’d got a pub that did live music. Out of the 55 people on tour, 40 people turned up and we had a great night. The band got up and entertained us. It’s brilliant fun.”

Norman has to pinch himself when he considers the number of years he’s successfully spent in showbusiness. The former teacher has been treading the boards for 36 years – many of them with his friend and comic partner Gareth Hale. They recently recorded four episodes of ITV’s Benidorm, spending 10 weeks in Spain with Shropshire actor John Challis, among others.

And yet for Norman, all roads lead to the Black Country. Though he grew up in Newark-on-Trent, in Nottinghamshire, his heart belongs to Dudley.

“My granny and grandad lived in Dudley. When my mother was pregnant with me at the age of 18, she went to Dudley to have the baby. I think there was some sort of scandal because of the Catholic Church – if it wasn’t for the church, I wouldn’t be here. They didn’t do such things as abortion back then. So mum tried to pull a fast one and had me in Dudley then I’d visit my granny and grandad on holidays. They lived on Blowers Green Crescent, I still remember it now.

“There were slag heaps that were turned into football pitches and I’d go there until about the age of ten. The family were West Brom fans and took me to the Hawthorns to cheer on the Baggies. They were happy times. I felt very loved when I visited the Black Country.”

Fame came calling for Hale and Pace when they worked together on a series of comedy shows, as well as featuring in Dalziel and Pascoe, guest starring in the Doctor Who serial Survival and featuring in a Christmas Special of Extras.

“It was a joyride. The whole thing was thrilling and we didn’t have a minute to stop and think about it. If Gareth and I weren’t making the TV series, we’d be touring. In every spare moment we’d be writing and we were even stupid enough to go on holiday together as families.

“The only downside about that experience was losing your privacy. At the petrol station, a queue of people would look at you like you were in a goldfish bowl. I’m under the radar these days and there are times when I grow a beard and people don’t recognise me. It used to be that you’d get people arguing about which one you were. But it’s no big deal. I had my taste of that life and it was intense. I can understand why film stars have people to fill their car up for them. Can you imagine what would happen if Rod Stewart was on the forecourt at Morrisons?”

Norman has no plans to slow down. There’s no exit strategy, no secret yearning for a quieter life, no intention of upping sticks and moving to somewhere quieter.

“The laughter is what keeps you coming back. Even now, after all these years, if you’re good at it and have a lot of experience and have enjoyed a long career, you can still learn a lot of things about how to do it better. I always want to beat the laughter I got last night, I want to keep moving forward.”

He loves the fact that he’s been able to play both TV and theatre during a starry career. He’s worked with tremendous actors down the decades and their skills have helped him to develop.

For now, all thoughts are of Hairspray. “It’s great bringing the show to Birmingham because Dudley’s only just down the road and that’s always been special to me. I’m hoping that people from Dudley and Wolves will pop over and say hello.”