Gaining a BAFTA award nomination for his highly energetic role as CBeebies screen favourite Mister Maker is just one of Phil Gallagher’s many career highlights.
After nearly a decade of playing the popular role that has brought him an audience of millions, the BBC show then went global with the spin-off series Mr Maker Around the World which introduced countries, including Brazil, Australia and Africa, to the character’s entertaining mix of fun-filled arts and crafts.
Now, Phil is taking his Mister Maker show on a big UK tour, which includes a date at the Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall on May 14.
“It will be great to bring the live show to Tunbridge Wells, which I’ve been wanting to do for years,” says Phil. “There’s lots of music and dancing along with the Shapes from the show – whom I’ve tried to give plenty of character.
“There really is something for everyone with it, and for the ? nale there’s 10Â minutes of non-stop music to a song that you wouldn’t expect Mister Maker to be doing. I come off stage and I am so exhausted and sweating that I have to lie down for ? ve minutes!” laughs Phil.
The show in Tunbridge Wells will be something of a family gathering as one of his best friends from university will be there as well as his sister Claire and her family.
Phil, 38, who lives in Gillingham and is a fervent football fan, started his media career by doing a degree in radio, film and TV studies at Canterbury Christ Church University. This led to his first media break with BBC Radio Kent as a sports reporter.
He eventually transferred into TV, which took plenty of hard graft, but he says it has been worthwhile and provided him with some fantastic opportunities to travel and meet fans of the show around the world.
Among his many highlights has been taking Mister Maker on the road to the exotic surroundings of Jakarta in Indonesia, which he recalled as ‘crazy’ but highly memorable, playing to an audience of 10,000 after expecting only a few hundred.
“When I got the job as Mister Maker, it really was a dream come true for me, which sounds like a cliché but that was the case,” explains Phil. “I had always wanted to be a TV presenter and looked up to the likes of Phillip Schofield and Andy Peters in the Children’s BBC broom cupboard. I have always loved their Gordon the Gopher character and am a fan of shows like The Muppets. I just wanted to try and recreate some of that kind of magic with the TV programme and the live shows as well.”
MISTER MAKER AND THE SHAPES LIVE are at the Assembly Hall in Tunbridge Wells on Saturday, May 14.
Tickets £10 children/£14 adults.
Box office is 01892 530613
For more information on Mister Maker Live dates visit www.mistermakerlive.co.uk/tickets/4584627240
