“WE’VE gone from the dead to the undead!” laughs Les Dennis, reflecting on the journey he and co-star Samantha Womack have taken from soap to gothic comedy.

The pair star in The Addams Family, the hit Broadway musical comedy which arrives in Bradford next week. As Coronation Street fans know, Les played hapless Michael Rodwell who came to a sticky end last year, courtesy of nasty Pat Phelan. And Samantha left EastEnders in a watery grave.

Now Samantha is playing Morticia and Les is Uncle Fester in the gothic comedy which remains faithful to Charles Addams' original cartoons originally appearing in the New Yorker in the 1930s.

"We're getting a cult following, people turn up dressed as Wednesday and Morticia. Not many Uncle Festers though," says Les. "The Addams Family has been hugely influential on popular culture over the years; it had a big impact on the Goth movement."

Fester acts as matchmaker when gloomy Wednesday Addams falls in love with a clean-cut teen from a 'normal' all-American suburban family. Sparks fly when they turn up for dinner chez Addams. "Fester is the narrator. He's a romantic - he's in love with the Moon. I get to sing a gorgeous song, The Moon and Me," smiles Les. "This is a show about a dysfunctional family but, as with all dysfunctional families from the Simpsons to the Platts in Corrie, there's lots of love in that house."

Les shaved his head for the role of Fester, and says there are shades of Jackie Coogan, who played him in the TV series, and Christopher Lloyd from the movies. "My kids love it. They've watched the film more than me," he says. "It's a lovely, funny, touching show with great music. There's a song that Gomez sings when Wednesday, his daughter, says she's getting married. Any father of a young girl will shed a tear at that song. It's a great family show - we're getting audiences of all ages. The costumes and make-up are incredible, and the house is a character in itself."

Liverpool-born Les rose from an impressionist on the club circuit to becoming a household name; craving a career in TV game shows, comedy, soap and theatre, with roles in the likes of Chicago, Hairspray and Art. In the mid-1980s, following the sudden death of his comedy partner Dustin Gee, his solo career saw him host Family Fortunes for 15 years. He reveals that Bradford holds a place in his heart. "I was in panto with Russ Abbott at the Alhambra, it was where I met Dustin," says Les. "As the Ugly Sisters, we decided not what we were going to wear to the ball, but who we were going to be. Our impressionist double act was born."

* The Addams Family runs at the Alhambra from Tuesday to Saturday. For tickets call (01274) 432000.