Television personality, author, actor and singer Tom Read Wilson is bringing his brand new show, The A–Z of Me, to Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre & Opera House on Saturday 12 September 2026 – and current ticket sales suggest the performance could sell out.
Best known for his appearances as the charming receptionist on E4’s Celebs Go Dating, Tom will take to the stage for an irreverent and intimate journey through the alphabet, revealing more about himself letter by letter and word by word.
We had the chance to put our own A-Z of questions to Tom ahead of his visit to The Tyne Theatre and Opera House this week.
Alliteration is one of your trademarks; what is your absolute favourite poetic device to use in conversation?
There’s a delicious device that features in the show: ‘Zeugma’ – it involves taking a single word; using it only once, but giving it two hats. Let’s take ‘fancy’ as an example: ‘I fancy a croissant … Oh! And the pastry chef!’
Backstage at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House has so much history; what is the most magical thing about performing in historic venues?
Oh! What you say! The spectral presences. I love the notion that Ellen Terry trod these very boards a hundred and twenty six years ago. Actors leave their essence in the very fibres, I think!
Cupid’s advisor is a role you play well on Celebs Go Dating; what is the single biggest mistake people make on a first date?
I think perhaps it’s a different kind of listening required: The antennae must be fully up!
Driving people crazy or making them swoon, your vocabulary is vast; what is a word you think we should all use more often?
I love the word ‘doozy’ for its versatility. You could have a doozy of a wedding or doozy of a bruise. It’s just any fabulous exemplar!
Embarrassing moments happen to everyone; what is your most memorable onstage mishap?
Indubitably my inverted tentacles. I played Squidward in The SpongeBob Musical with two bonus legs for a big eleven o’clock tap number. One day, my bonus legs were funnelled into their trousers back-to-front and consequently I was very wonky! Mercifully it was rectified moments before my entrance.
Fame came to you through reality television and musical theatre; how do the audiences for those two worlds differ?
It took me a long time to grow accustomed to the absence of an audience in telly. But now I rather like the cosiness of it.
Geordie warmth is famous here in Newcastle; what is your favourite regional dialect or slang term from the North East?
I love ‘ket’ for sweeties! I learned that at Beamish outside the tuck shop and thought it such a charming word. I also like ‘pet’. I suppose you could pair those rather deliciously when talking to sproglets!
How do you prepare your singing voice and your speaking voice before walking out onto the stage?
Oh! Lots of very unprepossessing vocalising very early in the morning, throat comfort tea, avoiding dairy, tipples, iced coffees. It’s jolly tricky!
If you could travel back in time to any theatrical era, which century would you choose to live in?
I would love to have attended the opening night of My Fair Lady in London in 1958 with Julie, Rex and Stanley Holloway! My Granny saw it as a little girl and can still vividly recall the magic of it. I ask her about it all the time. It must be very irksome for her.
Juggling multiple projects like writing, acting, and TV presenting; which creative outlet brings you the most joy?
The stage is the greatest pleasure. It is the best of humanity. Performers send a laser beam across the footlights and audiences send one back of matching intensity. Somewhere over the lip of the stage something is created: unique to that night and those people. When the outside world seems hell-bent on destruction, the theatre is a microcosm hell-bent on creation!
Keeping a straight face during awkward dating show reveals must be tough; how do you manage to stay so professional?
Mercifully, they seldom happen with me. They tend to be up with the brilliant, sagacious agents! I just get to shoot the breeze with everybody!
Love is a central theme in your work; do you believe there is a truly universal definition of romance?
I supposed it’s meeting a paramour with utter sincerity, compassion, and vulnerability.
Musical theatre is a huge part of your background; what is your ultimate dream role that you haven’t played yet?
In the realm of musicals, I think Albin in La Cage Aux Folles, otherwise, I itch to try a little Shakespeare!
Newcastle is known for its incredible nightlife and culture; what are you most looking forward to exploring while you are in town?
I’m afraid I shall be a nun because of the show. But I shall sample some daylife!
Opulence and elegance seem to come naturally to you; what does true luxury mean to you in everyday life?
I think luxury, like swearing, must only be occasionally deployed ! That way it never loses its lustre and magic.
Poetry books and children’s literature are part of your writing credits; what inspired you to start writing for younger audiences?
My Dad used etymological wrestles as a means of unlocking words and turning them into stories. I thought if I could do that in rhyme it might lodge in the memory bank and, at times, make it ticklesome.
Quitting is never an option in showbiz; what was the hardest hurdle you had to overcome early in your career?
Penury! My early days in the theatre were something of an uphill struggle. My Dad used to say, ‘my eldest has always lived on the smell of an oily rag’.
Reality TV can be highly manufactured; how do you manage to stay so authentically yourself on screen?
I am, happily, exempt from all those elements. My interactions with celebrities are allowed to run like everyday conversation and then the Edit are able choose whatever they like.
Shakespeare or contemporary drama; which style of writing do you think challenges an actor the most?
I think once you have tackled the complexity of Shakespeare’s language, the challenges are very similar. But I suppose Shakespeare gives you that extra lexical layer. I think when the actor has a handle on it the audience, in turn, do, very quickly. I just saw the most alive, zestful production of Much Ado About Nothing at The Globe and boy! The company virtually sang the text. It was sensational!
Theatre etiquette has changed a lot recently; what is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to audience behaviour?
There are digital elements to navigate but, in some ways, I think it’s even lovelier. Ever since Covid audiences are so palpably happy to be there!
Underneath all the glamour, what is a surprising hobby or interest that your fans wouldn’t expect you to have?
I love a cryptic crossword. My Granny tried seventeen times to teach me – abortively. One day I had an epiphany and mastered one and I have been hooked ever since.
Valentine’s Day advice is often requested from you; what is the best romantic gesture that doesn’t cost a single penny?
Learn a sonnet! Some are much more romantic than others: Some are teeming with bugbears, but the romantic ones are a ‘doozy’ – oh – see! I’ve never known anyone regret learning one of Shakespeare’s – and there are 154 to choose from!
Worst advice you have ever received in your career; what was it, and why did you ignore it?
Oh! I always forget the bum steers!
X-factor, star quality, or presence; how do you define that indefinable spark that makes someone a great performer?
I think Katharine Hepburn had it. She had an incandescent intellect that suffused all she did. There may be more versatile actors, but there’s a clinquant, compelling quality in her that makes it almost impossible to look anywhere else.
Young performers looking up to you need guidance; what is the most important lesson the entertainment industry taught you?
Not to fret when hiccoughs turn into giant belches. Paths only make sense retrospectively, and when you assess five years hence, it may be the perceived catastrophe that led to the greatest triumph.
Zealous fans often approach you in public; what is the funniest or most unusual encounter you have ever had with an admirer?
A huge crowd assembled around me once at Windsor and Eton Pride and mid seflie, three of the ladies said they had all played my songs at their children’s weddings. In fairly short order I deduced that as far as they were concerned, I was Mika!
https://www.tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk/whatson/tom-read-wilson-a-z-of-me/
Photo crredits: Matt Crocker
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