ARBROATH’S VERY own star of stage and the small screen, Norman Bowman, has been on a short visit to enjoy the fine weather in his home town and introduce he and partner Becky Vere’s 17-month-old twins Maddy and Ed to family and friends.

Norman (33)—who can be seen playing Dr Mulwray in tonight’s episode of BBC1 hospital drama series Holby City—is a former pupil of Arbroath Academy. He has carved out a successful career in stage musicals since moving to London in 1993.

“I’ve been so busy that it’s getting harder and harder to be able to manage to take time off to come back up to Arbroath, but I suppose I shouldn’t complain because that’s why I went down to London in the first place,” he said.

“I’ve been pretty busy lately, and in January I did some filming with Billy Zane for a movie that should be coming out later this year.

“Being involved with Holby City is also good because it’s the first television work I’ve done, apart from some commercials.

“The Dr Mulwray character isn’t a permanent one in the series, but it’s a decent role and quite a bit more than a ‘blink and you’ll miss me’ walk-on part.

“I even have a scene with Patsy Kensit, which is nice, too,” he said.

“I’m hoping this will lead to further work on Holby City, and possibly more television work because that’s the direction I see my career going in at the moment.

“I’ve also been working on a comedy drama for ITV called Mr Eleven, which will also be broadcast later in the year,” he added.

“Although I’ve been looking to concentrate less on the stage musical side of things, I have just begun rehearsals for a nine-week run of Disney’s High School Musical at the Hammersmith Apollo between the end of June and the end of August.”

Four years ago Norman followed in John Travolta’s footsteps when he landed the part of Danny Zuko in the hit musical Grease, which was staged at the Edinburgh Playhouse.

The role took him full circle as it was the first lead role he was cast in when, at at 18, he appeared in the local Midas group’s production of Grease at Arbroath’s Webster Theatre.

Norman, who was also a member of the Spiral Youth Club in Arbroath, turned professional 10 years ago and has appeared in many stage musicals, including The Pirates of Penzance, Cats, West Side Story and Carousel at Chichester Rep.