The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: Star Paul Nicholas on getting older and how work helps him to feel 'part of the world'

In the book, published in 2021, Paul shares his memories of more than fifty years in the entertainment business, including his adventures in India with The Real Marigold Hotel in 2017.

The BBC travel documentary series followed celebrity pensioners as they embarked on a journey of a lifetime, making a new home in Kochi to test whether they could set up a more rewarding retirement than in the UK.

It took inspiration from the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, itself based on novelist Deborah Moggach’s book These Foolish Things. The Sunday Times bestseller has also inspired a stage production, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which is currently touring across the country.

Described as a joyous comedy about taking risks, finding love and embracing second chance, it takes audiences on a journey to India with an eclectic group of British retirees as they embark on a new life.

Paul plays one of the retirees, Douglas. “There’s a great line in the play - ‘we’re not old, we’ve just been young for a very long time’ - which I think sums it up,” he says.

“There aren’t that many plays out there that reflect an older audience and how it feels to be older. You can tell the audience is relating to some of the things that go on and that includes romance. Love can come and go at any time in your life.”

Paul describes Douglas as a man who has been married for quite some time, with a wife who “somewhat dominates him”. Aged in his seventies, he finds solace with a woman named Evelyn.

“I understand him for sure,” Paul laughs. “That doesn’t mean I’m dominated by my wife, although I have been married for 50 years so there must be a little bit of that in there somewhere.

"Also, you can tell if something is written with empathy and understanding and this is definitely that. You have to find a little of yourself in everything you do, but it’s 50 years since I first did Jesus Christ Superstar and it would be slightly difficult to equate myself with that part.”

Paul, from north London, has had a varied career. He has co-starred with theatrical legends, had success as pop star, appeared on both the big and small screen –and was the first ever lead in Jesus Christ Superstar on the London stage.

In the music industry, he started out as a rock piano player for Screaming Lord Sutch. “Your dream is to have a hit record when you're in that world,” he says. “I didn’t manage it as a young man but when I got to 30 I decided to give it another go, found a song called Reggae Like It Used To Be and had a few hits off the back of that. I got it out of my system and it was fun to do.”

Paul has a long list of theatre credits to his name and did the original workshop of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit show Cats and went on to its West End premiere. Over the years, he's also been a producer with stage musicals including Grease, Saturday Night Fever and Singin’ in the Rain. His acting roles have included villainous Gavin Sullivan in EastEnders and loveable rogue Vince Pinner, who he played in 1980s sitcom Just Good Friends.

There have been many career highlights but Paul tends not to look back. “I just think what’s next,” he says. “You’re only as good as your last job and even that doesn’t mean a lot. You’re still very much the slave to someone wanting you, that’s the actor’s lot to some extent. I don’t have any hobbies. So I very much rely on being wanted and finding a job. I look forward and think what can I do to keep going.”

Touring, he says, is secure work, one of the few ways that actors can guarantee they’re going to earn money for a set period of time. “My wife says to me she didn’t expect me to be touring this late in life, though,” Paul says. “She thought I’d be digging the garden.”

He can’t think of anything he’d rather not do – and not just because he’s allergic to grass. He likes to keep busy and work, for him, is key. “So long as you’re still employed, and people want you, it makes you feel a part of the world and part of what’s going on.”

In recent times, Paul has released a 3-cd set of pop songs and show tunes and has been writing a sitcom and creating an audiobook version of his aforementioned autobiography. He’ll be playing Douglas until The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel tour comes to an end in June.

The story resonates with many of those who have watched the show, with a message to people of all ages that life doesn’t end when you get to 40, Paul says.

“It’s cheaper to go and live abroad, especially now, and the idea of moving around the world isn’t so alien to older people, so the older generation can relate to that aspect as well as the dialogue and what the characters are going through,” he reflects.

"You get all the foibles of being older, which audiences recognise within themselves - such as the various ailments you become aware of - but there’s also the message that you don’t have to give up on life. You can still have a lot of fun, and you can still go places and enjoy yourself. That’s a really positive message.”

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is at the Quarry Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, from February 14 to 18. For tickets, visit leedsplayhouse.org.uk