Dale’s no loony

New Zealand actor and Ugly Betty star Alan Dale treads the West End boards in his debut appearance as King Arthur in the comedy Spamalot at London’s Palace Theatre. Dale was born in Dunedin in 1947 and made his first major television appearance in the 1980s as Jim Robinson in Australian soap Neighbours. However he says his first big break was in the New Zealand series Radio Waves. “Lovingly ripped off” from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, his latest venture Spamalot tells the tale of the legendary King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Dale says: “Apart from having a yearning for the West End, I’ve always had a passion for the Pythons – most people of my generation have and if they haven’t, well all I can say is they’ve got no taste.” Spamalot runs through September 2008.