A child star in classic BBC sitcom Outnumbered who also appeared in five seasons of Cuckoo, the most watched comedy on BBC Three, Tyger Drew-Honey is one of Britain’s most experienced young actors. 

And yet playing Prince Charming in Cinderella at Lighthouse this Christmas is his first pantomime role and with rehearsals due to begin later this month, he can't wait. 

“It’s just never come my way before and if I’d been offered a role sooner there’s no reason that I wouldn’t have taken it,” explains Tyger in full costume during a break in what is also his first panto photo shoot. 

“Looking back on the shows I was in there was always a Christmas special to be filmed that meant I would have been busy when panto was in rehearsal, but this is a fantastic opportunity and I’m really looking forward to being part of it. I’m an actor and this is acting – it's a chance to do my job.” 

And acting has been Tyger’s job since he was just ten years old. He's fronted several BBC documentaries and appeared in shows including Citizen Khan, Death In Paradise and Midsomer Murders. He’s also played Demetrius in a forthcoming film version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Robert Lindsay and recently finished a part in a new BBC drama to be shown next year. 

“It’s incredible really, I’m 26 now, where did the time go? I’d say my childhood was slightly different, but I was lucky to fall into this business quite young – how many people are fortunate enough to fall into something they actually love? So, I’m very grateful I’m still plugging away in this industry.” 

And Tyger made his stage debut three years ago touring in Olivier Award-winning writer Laura Wade’s acclaimed comedy Posh, playing Alistair Ryle. 

“He was an aristocratic, Bullingdon Club, David Cameron-esque bully and I really enjoyed that because it was so different from me,” he reveals, much to the relief of his fellow cast members. 

“To me, theatre is like the purist form of acting. When I did Posh it was three hours on stage almost constantly and you’re in that world for three hours intensely, giving your all. If you’re lucky enough to be in a position where it’s been rehearsed thoroughly you don’t have to think about it, you’re just in it. 

“Whereas in TV I’ve had a few scenes where I’ve had to really get into it and prepare for it, but it only lasts a few hours and it’s one day and it’s gone. Normally it’s a scene you do for five or ten minutes then go and stand outside for 20 minutes while they move the cameras. If you get it wrong, it doesn’t really matter because they’ll just roll the camera again and there’s no real pressure as such. Theatre is much purer and more electrifying and there’s a bit of extra fear as well. You don’t get stage fright when you’re about to walk on to a TV set, it just doesn’t happen.” 

Regardless, Tyger can’t wait to get back on stage in front of an audience and hone his skills as a live performer. 

“I’ve seen lots of panto and have fond memories of throwing things on stage and shouting at the actors. I know this is going to be an intense schedule being on stage and in that high adrenaline state, it’s no small feat – knackering, but it will be fun. Charlotte has got a wicked, vibrant, sassy personality and if that comes out in Cinderella it’s going to be a treat.” 

And he’s not worried about escaping the shadow of his TV past, far from it. 

"I don’t really consider those long running shows to be shadows,” he says, batting away the suggestion. “My entire education in the screen side of this industry has come from those shows. It was like an extended period at film school in a sense. I'll be using skills in the panto that I learned from Outnumbered, which seems absurd, but there it is. 

“I think the TV work gave me a fantastic childhood and set me up in very good stead, but there is this period that every young actor has to go through where you go from a boy to a man. So, there is a mould to break but I think I’m in the process of breaking it. 

“I feel like I’ve discovered something with acting that I can do – I don’t have 16 years’ experience in anything else – so although I think of myself as quite able and would probably be able to do OK at something else, this is what I want to do. I love the industry of it, the moments on stage, but it’s also about the things it allows me to do, the people it allows me to meet. I want to aim high. I want to do this thing that I, and I want to have a great life because of it.” 

Tyger certainly suggests he is feeling his way into the next stage of his acting career and I wonder where it’s all going – what would success look like to him in, say, ten years’ time? 

“Ultimately, if I was to be happy to ten years’ time both my parents would still be alive, I’d be with my current girlfriend Fluke and have earned enough money acting over those ten years to have afforded a good quality of life. I’m hoping to be living in Spain in two or three years’ time and if I could be doing enough work to say I was an actor and to have supported myself and my family doing only that, that would be good.” 

It’s clearly a close family and Tyger’s parents, retired adult film actors Ben Dover and Linzi Drew, rented a house in Poole as soon as he told them he was going to be in Cinderella. 

“They’re going to come and stay for a week or so at Christmas as we were planning to spend Christmas in Spain where they live, but there’s no way I’d turn down a job like this and Mum and Dad are so excited about this so they can’t wait to come to Poole and we’ll have Christmas Day together. It’ll be lovely. 

“We had some tough times as a family for a few years, but we’ve grown back together. We’re really close, they’re the best of friends and I’m incredibly lucky to have the parents I’ve got – I’m an only child. We had some tough times as a family for a few years, but we’ve grown back together and as long as they’re OK for as long as possible that’s good. I love my girlfriend dearly as well.”