Come On In!
D Rhydian Roberts, 35, and Jonathan Ansell, 36, both found fame originally in The X Factor – the latter in all-male group G4. Now stars of musical theatre and touring together in Les Musicals, they tell us how becoming dads has changed them, and how they’ve bonded over their beginnings…
How do you take your tea?
Rhydian: Tea is my thing. My favourite is from Waitrose. The trick is to boil the kettle with fresh water, leave it to brew for at least two minutes – and you must stir the tea. That’s where a lot of people go wrong. Jonathan: I do enjoy green tea on the side of the stage, but I live on espresso.
Who would be your ideal tea guest?
J: Freddie Mercury would be exciting! R: Apparently, Mozart was a good laugh. He was a genius who wrote his first concerto aged four. My boy is four, and he can barely write a full stop!
Have you bonded over your shared experience of The X Factor?
J: Yeah, we’ve had a lot of chats about the good and bad experiences, the pitfalls, but the amazing opportunities that came from that experience.
R: Jonathan was actually one of the reasons I went on the show in the first place, so it’s quite nice to be working together now.
In musicals, there are parts you’d never be cast as. Is this your the
chance to sing those songs?
J: Definitely. Elphaba in Wicked is a role I’m never going to be offered but, in Les Musicals, we get the chance to sing some cracking songs. It’s really liberating to break down the traditions of the shows and take the songs and give them a twist.
How has becoming a dad
changed each of you?
J: It’s given me an appreciation of what life is really about. It’s those moments when you step in the door at the weekend or end of the tour and they run up to you with their arms up in the air. It makes me feel whole.
R: Max, my boy, brings back the lurgy from other kids, so you get a strong immune system from all these bugs. Life’s a lot busier, even with just one, and I’ve had to become less selfish, which overall is good.
DTour dates and tickets from lesmusicals.co.uk