Ahead of Wicked’s arrival at Wales Millennium Centre next week Andy Howells chats with one of the shows stars Liam Doyle

“ I've got the easiest job in the world,” Liam Doyle tells me as he discusses his role of Fiyero which he plays when Wicked comes to the magical musical comes to Wales Millennium Centre next week. “Emily Tierney and Nikki Davis-Jones who play Elphaba and Glinda are an absolute dream to work with, in truth everybody in the show is. You always worry that there will be one person no-one gets on with in the cast, because I cant think of anyone else, I think it might be me, that’s the only thing I worry about.”

Wicked, tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz and is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire that re-imagines the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, “I’ve been involved with Wicked since last August, when we started rehearsals” says Liam,” I've been going for quite a long while which is good.”

Liam is no stranger to the stage. He first came to prominence over four years ago when he entered and won the nationwide talent search hosted by GMTV to find an actor to play Troy Bolton in the stage version of High School Musical 2.

“My dad actually submitted me,” remembers Liam who hails from Coventry, “I’d actually just got into drama school at the time so I thought “great I’m going to train for 3 years to be an actor.” My dad took me down to London for the day and it kind of went from there. You get that moment in auditions when you know they are talking about you, I’d never really had that happen to me before that because id only ever done amateur dramatics, it was kind of really difficult but I loved it and its been perfect ever since. I’ve been really lucky.

Following High School Musical 2, Liam has subsequently gone on to star as Link Larkin in Hairspray opposite Michael Ball and Ricky Nelson in Bill Kenwright’s Rock & Roll Heaven. “It was nice to sing the music of the 50s and the 60s because that music is so good” says Liam of Rock & Roll Heaven, “It helped me to learn to play the guitar”.

Liam is equally enthused with his latest role in Wicked, which tells the story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

“Fiyero is a prince who becomes the love interest of both Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the good,” says Liam, “He kind of just turns up as an arrogant so and so, he knows what he’s doing, everything falls in his lap, people will do anything he says and he doesn’t have to try. By the end of the story he kind of realises there’s so much more to life than what you have given to you. You have to fight for things and he gets a purpose in life and that’s what happens throughout the story which is really cool to play.”

Liam thinks the audience will love the magnificent costumes and set design of Wicked although ultimately it is the story itself that will be the big draw. “It’s what everybody relates to and everything else is icing and cherry on top” he says.

Wicked runs at Wales Millennium Centre from Wednesday March 12 to Saturday April 28. To book tickets or for further information visit www.wmc.org.uk or call 02920 63 6464. For further information about the Wicked Official UK & Ireland Tour visit www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk