He said: "It was really hard work and at the time very intimidating.

"I had no experience of performing in a long-running show night after night, but I'm so glad I did it.

"It was a steep learning curve about how to interact with other people in the business and it took me a while to get used to the etiquette.

"It was the most incredible feeling when we sang One Day More."

Born and raised in Liverpool, Marc is a former pupil of the city's King David schools and says that his family was "not Orthodox, but traditional".

He grew up on "jazz, funk and soul" and every December would go with his parents to the theatre.

Although he got experience of performing at a young age in school plays and other amateur projects, he went on to study chemistry at Sheffield Polytechnic.

"After my degree, I started working as a pathologist," he said.

"I saw a chemical pathologist job in London and thought there would be more opportunities there, so I moved down.

"In the back of my mind though, I started to seriously think about performing as a career, so took the plunge and started working in a record shop that specialised in musical theatre."

Marc's career was given a major boost after he became the first winner of an Andrew Lloyd Webber scholarship to train at the Arts Educational School.

"I went to the audition knowing that I couldn't afford to go to the school if I was successful," he admitted.

"I had been singing since I was four and knew I could sing, but I was more worried about the acting.

"When I found out I had won the scholarship, it was one of the most incredible, happiest moments of my life. I remember just skipping and dancing out of the audition room."

After studying for a year and a half, Marc went to Jersey where he got his first professional job in a hotel variety show.

Once Marc had returned to London, it was then he got a job selling ice-creams in the Palace Theatre.

He said: "I didn't get the job because I thought it would be a way in to the industry.

"But it turned out that they needed a replacement for one of the performers and, although they knew me, I still had to audition for the part.

"I went in to the production on my own and everyone else already knew each other."

For the next 10 years, Marc says he did "lots of touring", which included his share of disappointments.

"I was in a huge flop called Fields of Ambrosia," he said. "I had a show-stopping song in it and I really thought it was going to be the catalyst for my career.

"I had great reviews, but the show was ripped apart.

"But it was the best two weeks because I'd always wanted a show-stopping song in a West End show."

During that time, Marc also performed in Annie with Lily Savage and played Seymour Krellbourn in The Little Shop of Horrors opposite Sue Pollard. However, he was forced to take a break after being involved in the Paddington train crash of October 1999.

"I was actually quite lucky," he said. "Some of the people in my carriage were killed, but I was saved by where I had chosen to sit."

This year has been something of a comeback year for Marc, with the release of an album of Charles Miller songs as well as getting back onstage in Coloured Lights.

His part in Coloured Lights came after performing cabaret in Highgate.

"The director was an old friend and his wife ran a production company. She asked if I was interested in a three-week stint," he said.

* Coloured Lights is on at the Jermyn Street Theatre from Tuesday until August 23. Box office 020 7287 2875.