BASINGSTOKE native David Allard, who you may have seen in local theatrical productions in the past, is certainly multi-talented.

A former successful journalist, he recently put his career on the back-burner in order to pursue his dream of taking to the stage full-time.

David lives in Oakley, and came to the fore on the stage in Salisbury last month as part of the production The Hired Man. But you may already know his name from BATS at the Haymarket, where he was Cornelius in Hello Dolly last year and Tony in West Side Story.

He explains: "The first show I did in the Haymarket, back in 1986, was Grease with BATS The Next Generation. The Haymarket was then closed for a year in 1992 and completely gutted and refurbished.

"It's a great playing space because you've got the whole audience in front of you, in your peripheral vision you can see audience all around you. There are brilliant acoustics in there."

And David's experience in the arts has convinced him that Basingstoke is in no way a "crap town".

"There's plenty of opportunity for everyone here. For youngsters coming through there are three or four different stage schools they can go to, provision that isn't the same elsewhere.

"Basingstoke council and the arts people do a lot to actually promote these and put actual money behind the arts. I think the perceived image of Basingstoke is still being damaged by the '60s concrete jungle."

For three years, David was a reporter, producer and presenter for BBC South Today, and also worked on BBC Breakfast, News 24 and Newsround.

"When you're reading the news, there's so much stuff. As well as presenting, there's someone talking in your ear telling you which camera to look at and how many seconds left. You're also operating the autocue with a foot pedal, trying not to look too stiff and like a rabbit caught in the headlights."

As a journalist myself, I can appreciate David's success at this level. So why give up all that?

"I always wanted to act," he explains. "When I left university, one of my plans had been to go to drama school, which didn't happen. I ended up working for 2-TEN FM as a commercial producer in the late 1980s, and then two of my bosses left to form an independent production company.

"When they decided to go their separate ways, I joined forces with a lady called Hilary Oliver who's a broadcaster and who does a lot of work on Radio 2. She set up a company called Cameo Productions, which basically produced press packs and radio press kits on behalf of the major film distributors to cover their new releases. I would go along to record voice clips and when the stars came over, we'd interview them and go to premieres.

"I was doing that alongside other freelance work for the AA - I wrote the AA Members' Handbook a few years ago."

Diverse then, to say the least?

"It was only after four years of that, that I decided to become a journalist in 1997-98. After a year of doing that, I freelanced for a year and was offered a job at BBC Southampton.

"All the time, I was also doing stuff for BATS and the Haymarket - quite a few leading roles and still having singing lessons.

"Then I got an attachment to another job working for network news and ostensibly the hours were 9am to 5pm, except, of course, if there was a major story. It meant I was actually able to do things most evenings.

"When I heard that the Southampton musical society were doing Copabanca in January last year, I thought 'Well, I quite fancy doing that', so I went along and auditioned and got a lead role."

After a Les Misrables masterclass made him realise that he really enjoyed the acting, David decided to go for broke and apply to the Guildford School of Acting for their one-year musical theatre course.

"The BBC is very good at giving people career breaks and when I spoke to my bosses and explained the situation, my immediate boss, who used to be a singer in the clubs, was fully behind it."

And luck was again on his side as, almost immediately after that, he landed the role of Dan in the Salisbury Playhouse production of The Hired Man.

"It was a good opportunity. Rehearsals were really good fun but it's all about having a motivation for each scene and so on. And you build up the story in your head so you're completely clear on what you're thinking on stage at any given moment."

Does he find that other actors are supportive and helpful? "Absolutely. Having had proper training from actors and actresses from the RSC and so on, you realise that what you think you're doing as an amateur is all the surface stuff."

So what's next for David?

"At the end of the month I start rehearsing for a big show in Norfolk called The Thursford Christmas Spectacular which I had never heard of - it's been going for 25 years. It's a huge production with 70 shows in six weeks, playing to 100,000 people who come from all over. There are 50 singers and 25 dancers - I'm one of the singers."

Fingers crossed, then, that this is the beginning of a long and prosperous career?

"This year I have been really lucky. I just love being in the theatre, being part of a company, having your dressing room and your rituals and so on. It's a comfortable feeling.

"I've got auditions next year - we'll just have to see really as I've got to make a decision by the end of November.

"At the moment, I am doing the two things I wanted to do when I was about 12 - it's not easy to choose!"