Darren Middleton

UK Tour - 09/1994 - Admetus / Macavity

UK Tour - 03/1995 - Admetus / Macavity

UK Tour - 08/1995 - Admetus / Macavity

Interview - West End dancer becomes church minister - October 2008 Darren Middleton will now be a Methodist minister at a community church, in Cardiff, south Wales.

Mr Middleton, 35, plans to use the skills from his former life as an entertainer to spread the word of God to a whole new audience at Christchurch Fairwater United Reformed and Methodist Church.

In the 1990s he toured the UK in Grease with Shane Ritchie, travelled the country in Cats, made films and appeared on TV with Patrick Stewart.

Mr Middleton said: "It was while I was driving down the M62 that I had a real Road to Damascus experience.

"Life at the time wasn't that great and I felt that I was in a bit of a pit. That was when God grabbed me and asked me to follow him.

"I suppose what I am doing now is as radical a departure from what I was as you can get."

Mr Middleton said his experience in the performing arts would be the key to reaching a whole new audience.

With the help of his wife Anne, 37, a drama therapist, they are planning a Christian drama season.

"We want to give the church a 'fresh expression', that's the term kicking around at the moment," he said.

"What I would like to do is bring people into an atmosphere where they can encounter God."

That they plan to run to host a series of monthly performances by professional Christian artists with a Christian message at the Hope Theatre Cafe.

He said: "I miss my former life but I wouldn't swap what I do now for the world.

"When you go out to visit people who need you in the community and you see the expression on their faces there is nothing like it.

"If you can touch people and their hearts that is far above any celebrity rush that I have ever experienced - and it lasts a whole lot longer."