Michael Barrymore back in the spotlight on TikTok and directing Laurel & Chaplin: The Feud
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Michael Barrymore is "happier and busier" than ever after finding global fame on TikTok and directing his first major play in London's West End.
The former star of ITV primetime shows including Strike it Lucky and Kids Say the Funniest Things is directing a play about the fierce rivalry between Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel.
Barrymore said he loved taking on the role of director despite "winging it" most of the time at London's Cambridge Theatre.
"Stan Laurel met [Charlie Chaplin] before he met Oliver Hardy and went to America," Barrymore told ITV News London.
"So this is about the story of how they met and badly fell out and never spoke again.
"He then went on to do Laurel and Hardy.
"And the Communist thing with Chaplin being accused of being a Communist brought him down at that time.
"And Stan who always said 'I’m better than you' when they were competitive as kids is suddenly huge with Laurel and Hardy," Barrymore explained.
Laurel & Chaplin: The Feud opens in London on July 24 and some of the scenes have been improvised "so every show for that night is just for that audience," Barrymore said.
He said he loved the adrenaline buzz from being a director and was proud of the stage production.
In the 1990s Barrymore was one of the biggest stars on British TV but after a man was found dead in his swimming pool in 2001 he vanished from our screens.
A post-mortem examination showed that Stuart Lubbock had suffered severe internal injuries which suggested he had been sexually assaulted. Barrymore was arrested in 2007 but never charged with any offence. The TV star repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The entertainer has since found international fame on TikTok with hundreds of millions of views every year.
"TikTok came along and had only been around a short while so I gave it a go and bit-by-bit I saw it take off and in the last two years it’s been huge!
"400m views per year!
"And TikTok reconnected me with my audience and all those who grew up with me. Plus I have a world market watching my old clips and me doing current trends - my version of it and I’m 71. "If TikTok has been around 20 years ago I would have chosen that over going into the studio it suits my sort of humour. "I’m having the time of my life on TikTok and that’s brought all this about in the theatre. "I’m 24/7 on TikTok that takes up all my time but I consider everything. You can get the money up a bit if you keep saying no! You’ve got to be brave. But you’ve always got to be willing to lose.
"Even what’s happened to me - you know how I dealt with it? I had a mate and he had a problem with his kid and I said would you take on everything I’ve had to deal with for the sake of your son?
"It’s a no brainer."
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