There's something about Michael Starke that makes you want to wrap your arms around him and squeeze him tight.

He'll no doubt always be remembered for playing chirpy Sinbad in Brookside - and who didn't love Sinbad?

These days he's a familiar face as amiable porter Ken Hopkirk in The Royal, ITV's popular 1960s hospital drama, and he seems to have cornered the market in playing Everyman nice guys.

He's currently treading the boards in Anything Goes, Cole Porter's de-lovely nautical musical which rolls into the Alhambra this month.

It's packed with classic numbers like You're The Top, I Get A Kick Out Of You and Gabriel Blow, the memorable songs Porter was inspired to write after reading the wisecracking script, co-written by Jeeves author PG Wodehouse. Witty and romantic, with toe-tapping choreography, the show first dazzled Broadway in 1934.

It's all mismatched lovers and mistaken identities aboard luxury ocean liner the SS American which sets sail for England with a cargo of colourful characters. Stowaway Billy Crocker pursues American heiress Hope Harcourt, fiancee of the foppish Sir Evelyn Oakleigh, but in turn Billy is chased by Reno Sweeney, ex-evangelist turned nightclub singer. Then there's Bishop Dobson, shepherding two Chinese converts, and pompous Wall Street broker Elisha J Whitney, who woos Evangeline.

Amid the romance, gangster Moonface Martin and a smattering of dim-waitted FBI agents add some high farce.

Michael plays Moonface, who he describes as "Public Enemy Number 13."

"He's a hapless gangster, he tries to outwit people but keeps getting it wrong, " says Michael. "I wear great gangster suits, I wish I could take them home. It's a fantastic show, the music is sheer class - I didn't realise how many Cole Porter songs I knew until I listened to the soundtrack recording - and the script is a dream, there are some great one-liners. A lot of musicals these days are just an excuse to string together a load of familiar pop songs, but back then musicals were like plays with songs. This show serves the songs.

"It's fast-paced, the action never stops and it's all high farce so we have to get the timing just right. It's hard work but terrific fun, I know it's a clich but the company is like a big family. We're having a ball."

And what about the acrobatic dance routines I've heard he's managing to pull off ?

"Erm, I'm not the world's best dancer but I give it a go, " he smiles.

"Iwouldn't say my dancing is particularly 'acrobatic' - well, I don't want to steal the limelight from the younger ones, do I!"

Michael has just come off stage after a matinee performance but is more than happy to talk. Friendly and down-toearth, he chats away like an old mate. It's his first major musical role and has given him a taste for more.

"This show has opened doors for me and I'd definitely like to try more musicals, " he says. "I've done plenty of stage work and did a musical called Be Bop A Lula years ago, but it was quite a small production compared to this. I love the buzz of a big musical, the audiences are loving it. I've been very lucky in that telly has got me noticed and now I'm in the position where I can try different things. I've actually had to turn work down, which can be heartbreaking, but I'm very aware of how fortunate I am to be able to do that."

It's a far cry from when he joined the cast of Channel 4 soap Brookside as an unknown Liverpool actor back in the 1980s.

"I came a couple of years into it and was only in it for a few weeks at first, I was just the cheery window cleaner who kept cropping up, " he says. "I kept getting asked back and it grew from there. I'll probably always be associated with it - people still shout "all right Sinbad" in the street and it honestly doesn't bother me.

He was well-loved, I can't complain about that. I'm very proud of being in Brookside, it was a pioneering drama that tackled a lot of social issues nobody else was touching back then. Because it was Channel 4 it had that edge, it dared to be groundbreaking.

"EastEnders wouldn't have the storylines it has if it wasn't for Brookside paving the way. When I look back now and think of the roll call of talent it churned out I feel very proud to have been part of it."

Michael's film work includes 51st State and Distant Voices, Still Lives, and his TV credits include Stig Of The Dump and Holby City.

These days he spends half the year filming The Royal. "We do a lot of filming at St Luke's Hospital so I'm very familiar with Bradford, I stay there a lot and I really like the place, " he says. "The Royal is great, everyone loves the nostalgia of it. It was a simpler time back then, or it seemed that way I suppose."

He hardly seems to have been off the telly since leaving Brookside, which is more than can be said for most ex-soap stars.

"I know, I thank my lucky stars every day, " he says. He sounds like he can't quite believe his luck. Bless.

Anything Goes runs at the Alhambra from May 15 to 20. Ring (01274) 432000.