Ignoring school bullies and chasing his dream to be a dancer proved to be an inspired choice for one Oxfordshire boy. Katherine MacAlister talks to Philip Comley as he prepares to take to the stage in Cats: Philip Comley ignored the bullies at school who taunted him about being a dancer, because he knew without a shadow of doubt that it was all he ever wanted to do.

The Oxford citizen, now a lead dancer in Cats, appearing at the New Theatre next week, says: "Yes people called me names and stuff at school but it never bothered me because I knew what I wanted to do so I just brushed their words aside."

"It may sound very boring but I really can't imagine doing anything else and I have never looked back."

Now 24 years old and performing in some of the biggest and most demanding musicals in the UK, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Beauty And The Beast, Philip obviously made the right decision.

And when the curtains go up in Oxford, his family will be there to watch. Born in the Oxfordshire village of North Leigh, Philip moved to Witney when he was 11 years old, and stayed until going to musical theatre college in Surrey in the age of 16.

"The New Theatre is where I came when I was little to see all the best shows so it'll be nice to return and give something back if you like," he says.

Philip came to dancing relatively late in life. He was watching TV one day when the Fame cast came on Children In Need and danced their hearts out. "I was 14 and I started dance lessons straightaway at Oxfordshire's Coreen Bailey School of Dance. And it was obvious pretty quickly that it was something I was good at. But until then I hadn't been a very active child and it's certainly not in the blood - there are no other performers in our family at all," he says.

"But that was the moment I knew what I wanted to do, and it's never changed, which has made it easy for me really because I've never minded putting in the anti-social hours, the hard work or the tiring touring schedule because it's what I love doing and it comes easily to me. But it certainly helps if you enjoy it.

"And every time the curtain goes up it's different. It may be a different crowd or a different location but it's never the same twice," he grins.

Philip sticks to a rigorous schedule to make sure he's at the peak of his physical condition to give each show his all.

As far as Cats goes, Philip arrives at the theatre at about 4pm, spends an hour in make-up, goes through the official vocal and physical warm-ups, is then off to wigs and costumes before another brief warm-up and then it's on stage.

The next day they pack up, move on and do it all over again. "It can be very glamorous seeing all these new places, but then you also have to live out of a suitcase and survive on M&S microwave meals, but I've never really had a problem with it," Philip says.

"Every day is still a challenge because Cats is a very specific show and you are on stage singing and dancing for the whole three hours, which is perfect for my musical theatre background. We put into practice everything we learned at college."

So is he looking forward to the tour? "Oh yes, because the Christmas crowds are a great audience and if they enjoy it then we do too, so it's a great atmosphere and I get to be home for Christmas. Although I think it'll probably be quite busy because my mum would like the whole cast to come over," he laughs.

Cats opens at the New Theatre on December 12 and runs until December 30