Director Paul has special reason to relish staging of play based on TV's Duty Free

Duty Free, screened by ITV in the 1980s, was a particular favourite of the young Paul Lomax, now a familiar face on the Fylde amdram scene as well as being deputy manager at Lytham Hall.

The stage comedy Last of the Duty Free runs at Lowther from March 23 to 26 and is set 30 years after the original show, which was about two couples on holiday in Spain.

As with the TV show, the script is the work of renowned comedy writer Eric Chappell, whose TV hits also included Rising Damp.

Paul said: “I always loved Duty Free when it was on TV, and as a budding young actor of 12, I spotted an opportunity.

“I wrote to Eric Chappell at the time telling him how much I loved the show, and how he needed to bring their children into the mix in the next series – and of course I knew just the person to play one of them!

“He was extremely gracious and wrote me a very encouraging letter back urging me to follow my dreams and train at drama school, which I did.

“Thirty years after the original Duty Free, Eric has thrown those couples back together in the same hotel in which they met all those years ago.

“The results are farcical and hugely entertaining. Our cast unfolds deceptions, misunderstandings and preposterous situations, with the love struck protagonists trying every trick in the book to keep their amorous intentions a secret.

“I think everyone’s desperate for a bit of sunshine and fun, even if it is only in the theatre. To direct this play at the Lowther with such an amazing cast is a dream.”

The TV show starred Keith Barron and Gwen Taylor as David and Amy Pearce and Joanna Van Gyseghem and Neil Stacy as Linda and Robert Cochran. It ran for three series from 1984 to 1986.

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