The nation's favourite choirmaster, Gareth Malone, is preparing to embark on a UK tour with a date set for Poole.

Daily Echo reporter Hollie Carr caught up with the choirmaster ahead of his Sing-Along-A-Gareth - My Life Through Song tour.

Gareth Malone is a household name which you may recognise from The Choir, his work with the Military Wives, or perhaps even a stint on the Masked Dancer – which we will get onto later.

The 48-year-old even has Dorset roots, having spent much of his younger years in Bournemouth and performing with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

Now, he is returning with his Sing-Along-A-Gareth - My Life Through Song tour, which he described as ‘a very simple idea,’ adding, ‘it’s me on a stage singing songs, telling the story of my life, with a brilliant band and backing singers.’

For those worried that they may not know the tunes word for word, Gareth added: “There is also a huge screen with the words on. The audience are encouraged to sing along.”

The music is all from the last 50-60 years and after much deliberation, Gareth decided that the favourite of the songs he is set to perform which sums up his life is ‘The End,’ by The Beatles, particularly the lyrics ‘And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.’

Gareth MaloneGareth Malone (Image: Trevor Leighton)

The choirmaster also shared his love for ‘Kiss From a Rose’ by Seal, which would ‘always be playing when he was working at a sandwich shop on Old Christchurch Road in Bournemouth,’ during his youth.

Gareth moved to Bournemouth with his family when he was 10 and remained there for a further 15 years. Now he visits ‘every summer for several weeks’ and spends time ‘splashing around in the sea’ with his children, also enjoying the odd trip to Lyme Regis.

He described Dorset as ‘a beautiful part of the world’ and has a particular love for performing at the Poole Lighthouse as it’s where he used to perform with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra when he was 11.

Another well known track that audiences may recognise is ‘Livin La Vida Loca’ by Ricky Martin which plays homage to Gareth’s time on the masked dancer where he appeared as Cactus.

He summed up the show as ‘very fun,’ adding, ‘it’s not a concert, it’s more of a gig,’ and ‘it doesn’t matter if you can’t sing.’

You can catch Gareth Malone at Poole Lighthouse on Thursday, November 7.