MY PERSONAL ROCKY HORROR SHOW

Putting on heels and suspenders for a bigcrowd would scare most men, but Duncan James had a very specific reason to worry about his role as Frank-n-furter in the kitsch musical Rocky Horror Picture Show. It’s his first time on stage since the back injury that nearly paralysed him, which ironically happened when he was in high heels for the musical Priscilla Queen Of The Desert.

Duncan, best known as one of boy band Blue, still has no feeling in parts of his left leg and foot after his illness. ‘It’s been a long three years,’ he says. ‘But I’m excited to be in this show – and in heels. It’s made me realise how much I love to be on stage.’

Dancing in heels isn’t easy for anyone and Duncan says wearing them for Priscilla aggravated his already bad back. ‘I had a slipped disc when I started,’ he says, ‘but I didn’t know it was so serious. as the show went on, I had injections for the pain. I should’ve listened to my body, but I thought the show must go on. Then one day I woke up and couldn’t move.’

He developed a rare condition called Cauda Equina Syndrome, where the disc was crushing the sciatic nerve. ‘The nerve started to die. I was told I may not walk again and might have to wear a colostomy bag for life. When you’ve been a healthy guy, something like that makes you realise you’re not immortal.’

He had an operation, but it wasn’t over. ‘When I left hospital I was at home with my mum and I had these headaches. I was watching television when I felt something wet running down my back. My mum looked and said, “Your scar is open and there’s clear liquid pouring out of you.” I rang my surgeon, who told me to lie on the floor and to not touch it – it was a spinal fluid leak and if that gets infected it can cause meningitis. So two weeks after my operation, I had another.’

Within weeks though he was back at work, having already said yes to a role in Hollyoaks, playing villain Ryan Knight, for which he was nominated Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards. ‘I used crutches for the first few months Duncan earlier

this month and was so high on the opioid painkiller Tramadol that I didn’t know my head from my backside.’ It’s an astonishing admission, but Duncan is a heart-on-your-sleeve kind of guy and it’s impossible not to warm to him. He’s clearly thrilled to still be working 20 years after finding fame with Blue – and he’s proving a huge hit in the Rocky Horror tour. His heels this time have been specially made too, as he has to use orthopaedic insoles because of the nerve damage.

His character Frank-nfurter, played in the 1975 film by Tim Curry, is a mad, transsexual scientist who wants to invent the perfect life form. ‘I just had to do this role,’ says Duncan, 41. ‘I checked with my surgeon and I had singing lessons for the audition.’

It’s more than a job for Duncan though, who hid his sexuality until 2009. ‘I was scared to come out as gay for a long time,’ he says. ‘I knew I was different but I didn’t want to open that can of worms. So I suppressed it but I became clinically depressed.’ He dated a string of women including Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and has a 14-year-old daughter with an ex-girlfriend. He’s now with Belgian Rodrigo Reis.

‘Frank-n-furter sings about his fear of being who he really is and I relate to that,’ says Duncan. ‘But coming out is one of the best things I’ve ever done. Finally, I’m happy in my skin and excited to be in heels.’ n

Ben Brockman Richard O’brien’s Rocky Horror Show runs at the Edinburgh Playhouse from 28 October to 2 November. For tickets, visit atgtickets.com.