SIMON Williams made his name as a dashingly handsome romantic lead in TV series like Upstairs Downstairs, First Among Equals and Sword of Honour.

The idea of seeing him tottering around on high heels looking like a cross between Dame Edna and Hinge and Bracket would, once upon a time, have seemed unthinkable.Yet this play finds Williams, all six foot three of him, swanking about in flamboyant drag and triumphing as an inspired comic actor. What's more he wrote the piece himself.

Nobody's Fool is a gentle comic romp that breezes through the theatre like a breath of fresh air. Deftly constructed, sharply written and excellently performed, it finds Williams starring as Leonard, a well-meaning but unlucky-in-love single parent who has made his fortune writing romantic fiction under the pen name of Myrtle Banbury.

The trouble is that Myrtle has gradually become a national treasure, idolised by her fans and feted as a feminist icon. This double life seems certain to be exposed when a TV journalist (Joanna Van Gyseghem) demands an on-camera interview with the queen of romantic fiction.

How can Leonard keep the fantasy (and his career) alive and avoid exposure? His daughter Dee Dee (Chloe Newsome) and father Gus (Bernard Kay) are the only people who share his secret. Then ex-wife Fran (Louise Jameson), a huge Myrtle fan, arrives on the scene with alarming news. Things are looking bleak for Leonard but desperate situations demand desperate measures and somehow his chaotic solution works.

Williams, who makes the very most of his beanpole stature, reveals himself to be a master of comic timing and, in the company of a first-rate team of co-stars, produces a marvellous performance.

There's also a simple but effective set, tight direction from Andy de la Tour and excellent use of recorded sound.

And as if that wasn't enough, Williams even chucks in a happy ending.

Nobody's Fool plays Lighthouse at Poole until Saturday October 16. For bookings and further information call 01202 685222.