An East Lancashire actor bares all for a new BBC series

EAST Lancashire-born actor Lee Ingleby didn't quite appreciate how much he was letting himself in for when he signed up for the new BBC2 series Nature Boy.

Lee, from Brierfield, not only had to contend with issue-laden scripts dealing with child abuse, GM food and New Labour policies - he also had to appear naked.

The 24-year-old former Accrington and Rossendale College student, who grew up in Mansfield Crescent, Brierfield, said: "It was my first time doing nude scenes on screen.

"I was really nervous about taking my clothes off, especially as I would be surrounded by all the crew. I had to keep reminding myself that it was just like going to the doctor's, they have seen it all hundreds of times before."

Lee plays troubled teenager David Witton, who is on a quest to find the father who abandoned him at the age of five.

He had sex scenes in the series, but what really bothered him was a scene at the very beginning when he had to swim naked in the sea off Barrow.

He said: "When we filmed it was quite a nice day in April but the sea was freezing cold. The trouble was that because David is meant to be a boy of nature there could be no toe-testing the water first. I had to run straight in until my head was under. "It literally took my breath away and I remember thinking, 'what am I doing here? Why did I take this job?'," he laughs. "But there were paramedics standing by, as well as people with towels and hot drinks. So, apart from shivering for ages afterwards, I was OK."

Nature Boy starts at 9.30pm on Monday - and Lee is worried about his mum and dad, Susan and Gordon, seeing the scenes.

He said: "When I told my mum I was going to have to strip off she said, 'Ooh, we're not going to see too much, are we'?

"I just warned her not to look. Also, my dad really hates strong language and David does do a bit of swearing. But they understand about acting and they have been very supportive."

Lee started treading the boards with various Pendle societies when he was just 11 years old.

He went on to study performing arts at Accrington and Rossendale College before going to London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in 1994 to become a professional actor.

He was whisked straight from being an impoverished student on to the lavish set of a major Hollywood movie when he landed a role in the revamped story of Cinderella - Ever After, with Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston.

"I had been living on pasta," he said. "Next thing I was in a field in France sitting next to Drew Barrymore who gave me a kiss on the lips and offered me a fag. I was a bit star struck and didn't think I ought to mention either ET or the drug problems. "I played a funny, odd sort of character - a kind of page who becomes Drew's best friend, the Buttons of the piece really. I really enjoyed doing it. It was a love story with lots of humour and very different from the pantomime version of Cinderella we have all got used to."

Lee then played a young heroin addict in the acclaimed BBC Education series Junk, which was later shown on BBC2.

He has also appeared on TV in series such as Jonathan Creek, Soldier Soldier and Dalzeil and Pascoe and on stage in London and Manchester.

His latest role is at the Almeida Theatre in London's West End in a production of Cressida with Michael Gambon.

Lee is full of praise for Brian Wellock, his drama teacher at Edge End High in Nelson, who pushed him towards a career as an actor. "He did the same for John Simm, who was at the same school and has since starred in The Lakes and Clocking Off," he said.

"He became a friend rather than a teacher. I really respected him and he pushed me to go college and then to drama school."

Lee has now bought his first home in London's Shepherd's Bush and he will soon be seen with Michael York in the British film Borstal Boy, an adaptation of Brendan Behan's semi-autobiographical novel.

He said: "The only trouble is that I always seem to be playing people with problems.

"It would be nice to have a bit of a laugh. But then I have learned such a lot and doing these really dramatic roles has been great." His parents, who still live in Mansfield Crescent, have always been keen on amateur dramatics and passed the acting "bug" on to their children. Lee's older sister, Donna, has just returned to this country after appearing alongside Russ Abbott in Cameron Macintosh's production of Oliver.

Mum Susan, who is appearing as the Wicked Witch of the West in St John Southworth's amateur production of the Wizard of Oz in Nelson this week, said: "The kids have grown up with acting. We're very proud of what they've done. It's got to the point where I'm a bit blase about it. He's always been interested in being on stage."

Lee said he knew he had been very lucky with his chosen career.

"I have friends I was at drama school with who are still waiting for that first important job to get them going. It has all happened so fast and yet I am still able to live my life with very few people ever recognising me.

"During Nature Boy I did a scene with Joanne Froggatt who was Zoe in Coronation Street.

"Suddenly she was surrounded by people calling her by her Street name and I thought then how really annoying that must be.

"I am still happy that, at the moment, it's only my friends who know who I am."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.