Vicky Edwards meets Let it Shine winners Five to Five, who tell her how touring, friendship and being cast in Tim Firth and Take That’s brand new musical all adds up to a surreal but mind-blowingly exciting opportunity…

Trying to get the boys of Five to Five to sit down and calm down is like trying to herd a litter of adorable but super-excited puppies — but having won a national TV talent show to star in a new musical, which is being produced by a team that includes members of one of the most successful boy bands of all time, such high spirits are understandable.

‘It does feel a bit surreal, especially when Gary [Barlow] messages us,’ said AJ Bentley, whose mum, a big Take That fan, told him about the Let it Shine TV search. ‘Just being in a working environment with Take That is incredible. I’ve looked up to them my whole life and to be mentored by them is mind-blowing.’

Settling next to me on the sofa, Iranian-born Yazdan (Yaz) Qafouri nods in agreement. ‘We went to see Robbie backstage recently. That he knew who we were was just crazy!’

Crazy it may be but it is also testament to the talent and drive of these young men. For Yaz, who at the age of four came to the UK with his parents as asylum seekers, the achievement is especially sweet.

But today their focus is on The Band and they are eager to talk about what audiences can expect.

‘It is a unique show in that it will work for people who perhaps don’t like traditional musicals,’ said Curtis T Johns. ‘It is a great story and we have an amazing creative team who have worked on real life Take That tours — it is going to be sublime.’

Sario Soloman, who describes himself as half Japanese and half Geordie, interjected: ‘It has all the classic Take That songs in it, all the hits are there’. I really hope we do it justice.’

Indeed, the five are united in wanting to pay proper homage to their heroes.

‘Watching Take That in concert recently made it so exciting to think about where our production is going to go. It’s definitely not just a jukebox musical,’ confirmed AJ.

‘There’s no other show like it,’ agreed Nick Carsberg, a former classic car restorer. ‘It creates a completely different experience. This is so different to your standard musical.’

Using Take That songs, Tim Firth’s story will almost certainly chime with anyone who grew up being a fan of a band or artist. Charting the journey of five 16 year-old friends for whom, in 1992, ‘the band’ is everything; 25 years on, the women set out once again to fulfil their dream of meeting their heroes. Directed by Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder, Yaz is quick to point out that almost everyone will identify with the story.

‘You’ll relate to it because you’ll come and see yourself. I hope people will go home and hold their loved ones a bit tighter and reconnect with people they haven’t seen for a while but I think ultimately they will be uplifted. It still really hits me when we get to the end of the show, and that first impact on audiences will be really special.’

‘I just think audiences will be in awe,’ threw in Nick. ‘I think they will go home almost re-watching it in their heads, thinking about how the storyline comes together.’

For Curtis, the music is vital. ‘I want people to leave thinking how important music and music culture is. It will make people think about the soundtracks we all have to our lives,’ he said. ‘That said, Tim’s writing is just so, so good.’

‘They will be laughing and crying – it is an emotional experience,’ said Sario.

‘But very funny too,’ AJ butted in. ‘We are still laughing at the same jokes.’

Chat turns to the TV show that won them their roles — the banter and familiar shorthand way that they talk to one another proof of the tight-knit group they have already become.

‘The TV show was an amazing experience and performing with Take That was definitely a high point,’ said Curtis, already grinning as the others start teasing, knowing full well what he will highlight as his low point.

‘Yeah, yeah! Learning to dance was the rubbish point but it was still amazing,’ he laughed, as the others recall their personal highs and lows of the experience.

‘All our friends and family are proud of us but only us five know how it felt to do the TV show and to be where we are now,’ said AJ.

‘That we are not experiencing this madness alone is great,’ agrees Curtis.

Admitting that they love sharing digs, as a group there are plans afoot that will further cement their friendship.

‘As a boy band we will be putting together our album, which is going on in the background. We have got representation and we’re already working on songs,’ said a proud AJ.

With the tour of The Band taking them all over the country they should have plenty of time to refine their material.

The boys admit that they are keen to see the many different towns and cities on the tour schedule. For footy fan Sario, Plymouth will be a return match but this time he’s glad he will see beyond the pitch.

‘I have been to football matches in Plymouth before but this time I hope to see a bit of the city too,’ he grinned.

The idea for a musical based on Take That songs has been in the offing for years.

Band member Mark Owen said: ‘It was seven years ago that the first seedling of an idea of a musical that could incorporate our music, came about but not necessarily about us, in fact, anything but about us. We’d find that a bit dull; we wanted to make it more interesting!’

The word ‘unique’ is freely used, and I am assured that, under the direction of Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder, and with a technical team that include specialists who work on Take That’s big arena shows, there are going to be wow factors a-plenty.

The Take That boys are impressed, not just by Five to Five’s talent but also by how solid their protégées are as a group.

‘Ever since they got together as Five to Five they have had this unity and gel,’ said Howard Donald.

‘But they have had to learn the show and the art of going on eight times a week,’ Gary chips in.

Robbie nods his agreement. ‘The discipline, the actual physical and mental discipline of being able to do that, is nothing you can expect until you’ve done it. Treading the boards for eight shows a week? It’s not something I’m desperate to do,’ he joked.

Fittingly, The Band opened in the city where it all began for Take That and the tour started at Manchester Opera House on September 8 last year.

So do Take That think Five to Five have a chance of making it in the pop industry?

‘Can they make an album? They are ambitious, so I hope so,’ said Gary, clearly optimistic about their scope for success. ‘They are a proper band, these guys,’ he assured me.

‘It’s amazing how ready they are to do this,’ affirmed Robbie. ‘It’s unusual. They were better than us straight away,’ he added, pointing out that the 18 months Take That had before they were really in the spotlight was a huge advantage.

‘We had time before we got any real notoriety and it was good that no one was watching because early doors there were kinks but these guys seem to have that chemistry right away, straight out of the box. They are incredibly professional,’ he admitted.

But the four of them know only too well how hard Five to Five will have to work to get started.

’It’s going to be intense,’ cautioned Robbie, ‘although not as intense as ours [early career], which back in the day was incredible!’

The Band runs at the Theatre Royal Plymouth from Tuesday, May 15 to Saturday, May 26.