'Spooky' portrayal of legend Shankly; Star unveiled for one-man play.

Byline: BY VICKY ANDERSON Daily Post Staff

THERE were gasps of amazement from the assembled press conference as actor Jonathan Watson gave a taste of his portrayal of Bill Shankly.

The sound was not from the assembled media, but from the legendary football manager's own flesh and blood.

His granddaughters Pauline Robinson and Emma Parry, with their own young sons all proudly wearing Liverpool shirts emblazoned with the name Shankly, said it was "spooky" to hear such a blast from the past.

Emma Parry said: "Everybody always does impressions, but it starts to slip after a few lines as it is such a hard accent. But he was absolutely spot on. It was like I was transported back to my childhood."

Scottish performer Watson was in the LFC press room yesterday - what was the boot room back in Bill Shankly's day - being officially unveiled as the star of The Shankly Show, a new one man play reflecting the career of the man widely thought to be one of the greatest football managers of all time.

Although keen to avoid the more famous "Shanklyisms", he recalled an anecdote he had previously performed on the Scottish comedy show Only an Excuse in an impressive take on the foot balling hero that left his family close to tears.

On perfecting the role, he said: "It's part of your training to have a good ear - it's just a question of listening to sounds and keeping them in your head. Probably with Shankly, it's getting the rhythm, that staccato stop-start. The show isn't about doing Shanklyisms, hopefully it goes deeper than that.

"Obviously he had a tremendous charisma and made a real impression on people. It's things like that we are trying to get into the play.

"It is quite daunting but I'm looking forward to the challenge. I have done one-man shows before but there is a feel to this that is very different in the use of archive footage. It has got such a fresh feel to it."

Writer Andrew Sherlock said his star came recommended by impressionist Alistair McGowan.

Mr Sherlock said: "When he walked into the room and started doing a few words we thought 'this is the man'. This is something special. Knowing Liverpool, his family and friends and people who knew him well will be watching, we needed someone who captured the spirit of the man. For us, Shankly isn't just about football - his great legacy went far beyond that.

"What he gave the city was a sense of self-belief, pride, and a sense we could get forward."

The premiere is at the Liverpool Olympia April 24. Tickets from 0151 263 6633 and www.liverpoololympia.com [e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

Actor Jonathan Watson at Anfield Picture: COLIN LANE/ cl260308shankly-4; Jonathan Watson with Bill Shankly's granddaughters Pauline Robinson, left, and Emma Parry