We chat to David Essex and Martine McCutcheon ahead of Elf: A Christmas Spectacular in Birmingham

And though he’s utterly professional, though he talks a good game and says all the right thing, it’s when the MP3 recorder stops rolling that he finally starts to emerge.

“I hate these press days,” he says, apologetically, as though saying sorry for not really being himself, as though he’s somehow let us down. Truth is, he’s done quite the reverse. He’s given us an insight into something far more important that the business of selling a show – he’s shown his humanity, he’s connected.

We communicate for longer after the recorder has stopped – damn those failing batteries – than we did when it was switched on.

“I always feel uncomfortable doing these,” he says, as well he might. It must be no fun being wheeled out for the delectation of the media and being asked to stay on message and sell a show, no matter the paycheck.

I ask if he still gets the same buzz out of performing that he did in the mid-1960s, when he started releasing records, or when he hit the road and sparked scenes reminiscent of Beatlemania, having been a teen idol for more than a decade. He smiles and his eyes come alive. “Of course,” he says, as though it’s the most foolish question he’s ever been asked. “It’s just the same, I love it just as much.”

David is in the position to pick and choose. He became a household name when Rock On gave him a number three hit in 1973. He followed that with two number one singles; Gonna Make You A Star and Hold Me Close. Oh What A Circus and Silver Dream Machine kept him in the public eye while Winter’s Tale took him back to number two in 1982. It was a remarkable run. There were huge films, TV hits and more. Essex was a bona fide rags-to-riches success story.

And after 50 years, he’s in the position where he can call the shots; taking gigs when the money’s too good to turn down or when he has a genuine interest in what he’s doing.

Elf probably ticks both boxes. “It’s going to be very spectacular. It’ll be a very warm show, you know. It’ll be great for families. The production is huge. There’ll be flying sleighs and I’ll be intrigued to see how it all comes together.

“It was an easy decision to make when they asked me because I know the team behind it. I read the script and knew I was in. It looked like fun. These days, there are very few things I say yes to but there are a lot of things I say no to. But with Elf, I immediately said yes and I’ll look forward to it.

“The family will all be there for this and they’re all excited by it. The grandkids and the kids, they’ll all be up for this one. You get to a stage where you do things for family. With this, the family will like it so I’m happy to do it.”

David’s family won’t be the only ones who enjoy it. After all, Elf is a West End and Broadway hit musical based on the Hollywood blockbuster movie and it’s being supersized into a Christmas spectacular this December.

Starring pop legend David Essex as Buddy the Elf’s father; Love Actually star and singer Martine McCutcheon as Buddy’s girlfriend, Jovie; plus, comedy actor Tam Ryan as Buddy, it will be a festive treat like no other.

Featuring a book written by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers and Hairspray), the new Christmas spectacular will also include an original score of new songs. Added to that, there are special effects to take the breath away, including a giant sleigh that flies across the arena, an indoor snow blizzard and lots of skating. It will all be teamed with giant screens and a humungous stage so that families can catch all of the action.

David’s lack of enthusiasm for press junkets shouldn’t be confused with a loss of appetite for performing, however. He hasn’t lost the bug – far from it. In April, he’ll be back on the road for an arena tour called Legends, where he’ll join forces with Suzi Quatro, Bay City Rollers, Smokie and Showaddywaddy.

“I did something similar a couple of years ago and the reaction was incredible. It was the celebration of an entire generation and people loved it. The fans really tuned into the music from the seventies and eighties. People like to reminisce and be reminded of their childhood. I was pleased I did it and I’m looking forward to coming back.”

Birmingham and the Black Country have always been a happy hunting ground for David. He has fond memories of the Second City and Wolverhampton having played more shows that he cares to remember.

“I love Birmingham. I came here when The Odeon was still here. I’ve always been well treated when I’ve come here, which is why I like to come back. I’ve found Birmingham one of the warmest places. People used to malign it and talk about Spaghetti Junction. But I’ve always loved it and had a great time here. Wolverhampton’s great too, there’s a fantastic theatre there with The Grand.

“The audience is what makes it. Films good and recording is good. But there’s nothing as good as live. As long as the audience accepts that we’re in Wonderland or wherever it is we’re at, then that’s great. Once you’ve achieved that, you’re on a journey together. They’re coming with you and it’s all about having fun.”

David is no stranger to big stages having enjoyed a remarkable career. The son of an East End docker and a self-taught pianist who descended from Romany gypsies famously flunked his 11-plus exams, refusing to answer a single question, so that he could go to a school that had a decent football team rather than a grammar school where sport was frowned upon.

He formed a band and pretty quickly became a pop star before becoming the lead in Godspell and then starring in the film That’ll Be The Day. Gold discs and more hit movies followed while Essex moved into musicals with The War Of The Worlds, Evita and more.

“I guess one of the proudest achievements was doing well across all formats: music, films and stage. For a while, everything was going well at the same time. It was pretty special.”

And yet it’s his love of performance that kept him in the game for so many years. And it’s that that he has in common with his Elf co-star, Martine McCutcheon.

Like David, she’s enjoyed in TV (as Tiffany Mitchell, in BBC TV’s EastEnders), in film (Love Actually), and as a pop star, enjoying a number one hit with Perfect Moment and relaunching her pop career last year with Lost and Found. Similarly, she has also been a doyen of the West End, in her case, starring as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, which won her a Laurence Olivier Award.

Her motivation for starring in Elf was similar to David’s – it’s a huge show, a well-paid gig and her son will be thrilled.

“Do you know, I’ve been offered things over the years and for various reasons I’ve either not wanted to do it, not been able to do it or been thinking I’ll do it later on. For me, this came at the perfect time. My little boy is so excited about Father Christmas and anything to do with that – he turns four in February – and so he’ll be with me a lot. This show has a great team and for the first time in years it excites me. It’s in arenas, it’s on a massive scale, it’s CGI and I like things that test me. It makes me excited.

“The timing was great. I think this Christmas is perfect because my little boy is old enough to know but not too old to be at school – it’s my last chance to do this while he’s a kid.”

Martine was also captivated by the story. She’s a huge fan of Elf and relishes the chance to get her teeth into its everyman story.

“Jovie is very anti-Christmas and is a bit unhappy in her life and is Bah Humbug. She’s quite feisty and is just not happy. But then she meets this character called Elf who turns her world upside down. She goes on a full U-turn, which is so exciting to play. She goes from being a tough girl to being a giddy girl and it’s all because of falling in love, which is a lovely message.

“It’s not boring. It’s not a one-level, boring female part and she’s funny and sassy. I love playing funny women. It tests all my skills, I sing, I work with camera for the CGI and the screens. Everytime we come off stage we’ll feel like we’ve climbed a mountain. We make ourselves jump through hoops; I don’t know why we do it but we do. It’s a massive production with a lot of money involved and they want that luxury feel-good aspect. It was important to me that if they were going to do it, they did it right. I’m really excited.”

While Martine will be playing to the crowd her thoughts will, of course, go to her son – for whom she’ll create the most magical of memories.

“He’ll be with me and he’ll have those pictures for ever and those images backstage. It’s great, you know. And for me I love playing to a big crowd in the arena. It’s exciting and it’s nice that the public will feel like they’re part of the production with me.”

Elf follows a purple patch for Martine, who returned to the public eye with her most recent album and a successful singing tour.

“It’s been great and I’m thrilled. Life has its ups and downs and mine have just happened to be public. As long as you can brush yourself down and keep living a life you love. We can get caught up and get in a rut, but you have to keep going and appreciate the little things in life.

“Making new music, gigging, working with nice people and laughing lots – that’s what it’s all about. The people on Elf are like a family. We’ve not worked together before but we’ve wanted to and it came together this year.”

EastEnders, Love Actually and hit records stand out on Martine’s CV but her portrayal in My Fair Lady remains a crowning glory. She’s still proud of it. It was a dream for her.

“The whole thing was special. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It was a dream come true. I watched the film as a kid and my first ever solo was Wouldn’t It Be Lovely in a school music. So the part resonated me and it mimicked my life in a certain way. It was the most amazing time. But theatre’s difficult because it was eight shows a week with matinees for 18 months. So this is very different. It’s not 18 months. It’ll be fun and I can throw myself into it.

“And I can genuinely say people here give me the best time. They are supportive. They want you to win. They’re not like that everywhere. It’s nice.”

David and Martine are the big names in Elf but the production will also feature a cast of thousands. It promises to be Christmas’s big ticket.

Andy Richardson