'I STILL GET A BUZZ OUT OF IT' (6/11/04)

From The Cambridge Evening News:

You might know John Bowler. At least that's what you would probably think if you saw him. He always gets people thinking that when he's out and about but the actor doesn't mind. Having been a regular face on British TV for over 20 years he's now used to it.

"I've never been linked with one programme for long so people always think they actually know me rather than know me from the telly," says John. "But people are really quite pleasant.

"Sometimes I get, 'Oh you're the guy from Emmerdale'," he laughs. "But it's probably the only soap I haven't done."

Now the 52-year old has landed a part in another popular TV drama - ITV1's The Bill. On November 3rd he debuted as the new recruit PC Roger Valentine, an old school copper.

"He's been out of the force for a few years," says John. "He fell in love and got married and decided that that's what he wanted to do with his life. But then it all fell apart disastrously and his wife went off with someone else. Now he's back to do what he loves best and he's throwing himself into it."

Roger has other problems to deal with when he joins the team at Sun Hill station, however. HE finds that his old-fashioned principles don't sit well with his new colleagues and that the modern police force is different to the one he left behind.

It's a far cry from John's current screen incarnation - the slightly bonkers station boss Mick Hammond in ITV1's fire-fighting drama Steel River Blues.

"Yeah, they are different," laughs John. "Hammond is completely in his own world. Because Steel River Blues was a new show, we could just create something."

In fact it's been a varied couple of years for John, which explains why he confuses people when they see him on the street. He helped introduce EastEnders fans to Shane Richie when he played the corrupt copper who blackmailed Shane's character Alfie Moon.

He also put the frighteners on Coronation Street's Vikram, when the Corrie cabbie started a Mrs Robinson-style affair with John's wife in the show.

"They're a friendly bunch on both lots," says John. He also had a great time on the resurrected Crossroads, despite the soap facing the final nail being banged into its (slightly wobbly) coffin. Again he played a villain. "When I'm not smiling I look a bit psychotic," he explains with a laugh.

"I went from there to doing a stint with the Royal Shakespeare company so my job is certainly varied," he grins. "But that's why I still love it. I've been doing it for years and I still get a buzz out of it."

John lives in Surrey with his wife, actress and theatre director, Judi Lamb, and his son Joe, 15, and nine-year-old daughter Caz. He thinks both his children will follow their parents' footsteps into showbiz. For now though John is the most famous face in the household and looks set to be making his mark on The Bill for some time to come.

"I hope it's for a good stint," he says. "But I never tend to think more than a few months ahead because that's just the way it's always been. It's being realistic really. I just enjoy the day as it is and enjoy the work as it is, and The Bill is a great show, which is where you want to be as an actor. But I never give up hope with anything else. That's what keeps it varied."