He was the teenager with the cherubic looks and show-stopping headspins who stole the nation's heart with his street dancing on Britain's Got Talent.

GEORGE SAMPSON tells JOANNA DAVIS about life on the road in the Our House musical, which arrives in Weymouth next week.

George Sampson still looks like butter wouldn't melt, but is all grown up now and touring the nation with the musical Our House, coming to Weymouth Pavilion from November 14 to 18.

Hosting this West End musical tour is a major coup for Weymouth Pavilion and many a full house is expected.

But you wouldn't think that George, the boy from Warrington, would share in the Dorset town's joy at hosting a major musical. But think again! George's girlfriend Lauren Grice, also a performer, has family in Dorset and George is very familiar with the county, having spent a lot of time in Dorset.

He said: "My girlfriend's family are from Wimborne and I'm in Dorset a lot. I'm really, really pleased that the show is going to Weymouth. It's a lovely place and I've got a lot of family and friends down here. This show is going to be the local one for them to come to and on the Friday night I've got 20 people coming to see the show. It will be great to look out into the audience and see so many people I know in Weymouth."

This is the first musical tour George has done and it's going 'really well', he says.

"It's a really fun show to be in and the cast is lovely. I've done tours in the past and it has been very hectic because you're in a different place every day. After finish at each venue you're then in the car and driving for four hours.

"This tour is great because you're in the same place for about a week so it's not like you're living out of a suitcase. You've got time to explore certain areas and see what's around."

George plays the character of Reecey in Our House, a trouble maker who is a bad influence on the main character Joe, played by Jason Kajdi.

George said: "Reecey is a catalyst for everything that goes wrong. If you had a son then you wouldn't want Reecey to be around him! He gets into a lot of trouble and he really is a fun character for me to play because I was very well behaved in school but it's fun to be that bad guy who always seemed to be getting away with stuff."

And George knows a classic pop song when he hears it - a self-confessed fan of Madness, he's delighted to be performing to their songs every night.

"I grew up in quite a mad house with three sisters and brothers. A lot of the family lived on the same street and they would come round to 'Our House' - see what I did there?! That song was part of our childhood. I grew up listening to Madness and used to have a stereo that was shaped like a coca cola can for some reason and we'd have Madness playing on it and I loved dancing to them."

Audiences can expect to be wowed when they see George as Reecey dancing to his big number Baggy Trousers.

He said: "I think this is the best musical number I have ever been involved in. The choreography is out of this world. When I first became involved in the show I was worried I wouldn't be able to do my own dance numbers but I was delighted that I was able to do some of my own stuff and get to show what I can do."

It's strange at the young age of 24 to be celebrating his 10th anniversary in showbusiness, George said. 

"I look back at me dancing as a 14-year-old and think 'what a time I've had'.

"I've had such a wonderful career but I've got there through working hard - talent alone won't get you there, you have to work hard. I'm still working hard and I've achieved so much already."

Although George doesn't have any regular contact with Britain's Got Talent impresario Simon Cowell, he is still very much involved in the popular ITV show, which is due to start its 12th series next year.

"I'm always asked to help out and speak to people at the auditions and a lot of the time you've got kids there aged eight, nine and 12 auditioning and they look at me as if to say 'who are you?', it's hard to believe they weren't even born when I won the show!"

George has spoken openly about recently undergoing a hair transplant. He experienced hair loss through a combination of his head spinning moves, stress and alopecia.

He said: "A lot of young men have messaged me telling about their problems with hair loss and they haven't even told their partners about their problems. I'm hoping to eventually film a documentary about it because it is a taboo subject and we can only change things by the more people that talk about it."

George is urging everyone to come along and see Our House.

"I think anyone of any age is going to love it. The choreography is amazing and it's not just a jukebox musical, the songs fit into the storyline. The story is fantastic and every night we've done it it's been a party night. We haven't done a show yet where people haven't been on their feet dancing. It's such a good experience."

Theatregoers of Weymouth - it's over to you!
*Our House, Weymouth Pavilion, November 14 to 18. Call the box office for tickets.