As veteran actor Richard O'Brien reclaims his role as the evil Child Catcher in the hit musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Southampton this week, he admits that his " life of decadence and debauchery" could present a few problems.

The 65-year-old star told me: "The Child Catcher is a very demanding role. Every second has to be orchestrated, it's almost like dance, every hand movement, every twist of the foot is highly stylised. I've a sneaking suspicion I might need oxygen in the wings. I don't have much puff. I'm not one of those people who's looked after themselves."

In fact O'Brien - who created the original stage version of the Child Catcher at the London Palladium five years - ago says: " I've almost gone out of my way to abuse the body... smoking too much, drinking too much, a bit of a life of decadence and debauchery."

Not that he has any regrets. "I'm not at all ashamed," he said. "I feel that we only have one life and we may as well enjoy it. However it's not very helpful when you're running around the stage singing and dancing."

O'Brien - best known for his cult hit musical, The Rocky Horror Show and as host of the Channel 4 show The Crystal Maze - says he is thrilled to get the chance to re-create one of the legendary baddies of all time.

He stepped back into the role again last night and will now play the child-hating bogeyman for the two weeks of Chitty's UK tour at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre before travelling with the production to Singapore.

He sees the Child Catcher - originally invented by Roald Dahl for the 1968 movie of Ian Fleming's children's book - as "slightly nightmarish, like a little demon flicking at the corner of your eye."

When asked to create the role for the theatre, O'Brien says he jumped at the chance. "I loved Robert Helpmann's portrayal in the film, it was so deliciously naughty. I really wanted to capture that creepy little spidery figure, to bring all the internal fury and awfulness of this creature onto the stage."

In Southampton and then Singapore, he says he has re-established the role as originally conceived for his initial six-month run at the London Palladium.

Here is a man who has the clout to restore edits made since he left the role and has done so without a moment's hesitation.

"There have been one or two snips here and there and I've been busy putting back in the bits they've taken out. I can't see any good reason for them. They don't save any time, maybe two minutes at the most, but you do lose some of the danger and the unpleasantness of the character. I can't allow that."

He is acutely aware that a demon who steals children from their parents and locks them away underground, could prove just too frightening for some of his young audience. It is vital, he says, to show them at the end of the production that it is only a story.

"I want to take the children in the audience to that place where they enjoy being scared. One of the ways to undo any damage that might be done is with the curtain call.

"I come out followed by the children who come straight to me and we have a little cuddle. That finally settles it. It's only make-believe. It allays any fears the audience might have had. That was important and I insisted on it from day one because I didn't want to send children home with nightmares."

  • Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will continue its UK run at the Mayflower Theatre, in Southampton, on Saturday September 15.