Liza goes back to her roots

Famous face Liza Tarbuck took a trip to the Black Country to help out the theatre group which launched her onto fame and fortune.

The star was in Brierley Hill to help usher in the National Youth Theatre's new base in the town - only their second regional base in the country.

Over the next year the prestigious company will be working with up to 600 young people from across the West Midlands who could be the stars of the future.

Aside from Liza Tarbuck other famous faces such as Kate Adie, Timothy Dalton, Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, Catherine Tate, Orlando Bloom as well as Little Britain's Matt Lucas and David Walliams, all started off in the national youth theatre.

Liza, the 43-year-old star of shows such as Linda Green and Bleak House and The Big Breakfast, said: "When I was there in the 1980s one of my contemporaries was Daniel Craig, or James Bond as he is also known.

"I am sure he would say that the theatre allowed him to work things out for him, it is just such a positive experience."

She added: "If I think that I have five best friends, then four of them I have met at the National Youth Theatre. I think only about half of the people I knew actually went into acting but what is so important is the confidence it gives you. I fell into it by accident but before I joined I hadn't realised that there were other people out there who thought the same as me."

Liza said it could be a great experience for Black Country youngsters to get involved in Youth Theatre projects.

She added: "A lot is said about young people these days, on my street we have a group of kids who look like ASBO youths with their hoods up. People say 'oh have you seen them' and I say 'yes, but have you actually gone out and spoken to them?'

"Young people are fantastic but they seem to be always be told they are no good - if that is the case, where did we all come from?"

Liza is also well known as the daughter of comedy legend Jimmy Tarbuck, who in recent years has been showcasing his teeing off skills on the green.

She added: "My dad is well, he lives on the golf course, I think that's what keep's him healthy. The whole family plays golf, apart from my sister."

Liza's trip was to the Brierley Hill Civic Hall yesterday afternoon, but it was not the first time she has been in the region.

She said: "I have been up here on several occasions actually, we filmed the fashion programme She's Gotta Have It up here and of course it is always talked about very fondly in the Lenny Henry household when I see them. I think that the Black Country is underused, with it being the middle of England you think more could be done here.

"Everyone always gives you a really friendly welcome here."

The new theatre base was launched after nearly two years of discussion between the National Youth Theatre, Brierley Hill Regeneration Partnership and Dudley Council.

The theatre will operate in the region until the end of 2008 at the earliest and will be working with local schools, Dudley performing arts and youth services among others to get young people involved in their projects which take place in the school holidays. As part of the theatre's commitment to the area, Brierley Hill will be one of four places across the UK to take part in the ID1000 project. The town will be joining up with Tower Hamlets in London and locations in Kent and Cumbria to show what being British means to young people in this day and age.

Paul Roseby, art director of the national Youth Theatre said: "This isn't pop idol or any of these reality shows, it is about challenging talented young people."

The project has been launched with a performance of Easter Bites, a celebration of new works created by young writers from across the West Midlands.