If there's one story that proves that Darren Day's party days are over it's this: "I was at London Zoo the other day with my wife and kids and I bumped into this pap (paparazzi).o "He must have made a lot of money out of me back in the day and was always snapping me coming out of nightclubs off my head at 5am.

"Anyway he said 'alright Darren, who are you here with?', getting his camera out. 'The wife and kids,' I told him and he put the camera away and walked off because that's not the Darren Day they want.

"If I was ever unfaithful I'm sure they'd be back, but they're not interested in happily married Darren Day. That's not the man they created."

Darren, 39, tells me this story without one iota of bitterness. He's just proud he's on the wagon and has finally found something more meaningful than drugs and showbiz. He moved out of London, got hitched to Emmerdale actress Stephanie Dooley, has a family of his own and a career that's back on track.

Which is why he's coming to Oxford on Monday in the musical Hello Dolly, half way through a mammoth national tour.

But Darren, born in Essex, readily admits he had to hit rock bottom before he could kick his drug addiction.

"I woke up one morning outside the Cambridge Theatre in London with my face pushed up against the theatre doors and people throwing coins at me and I realised they thought I was homeless," he tells me.

"Yet when I looked up, my face was on posters everywhere as Danny Zuko in Grease and my name was in neon lights above the door. No one recognised me because I was such a mess and I remember thinking this must be one of those turning points.

"But it wasn't. It took another six years because I still had a prime stage and TV show. I had to lose everything before I did something about it and I did lose everything."

By everything he means work, relationships and a fortune. He filed for bankruptcy, having blown an estimated £2m on cocaine, and the work trickled to a halt.

So Darren moved to West Yorkshire and started again.

"My wife and her family gave me a clean slate from the day we met so I've never had anything to make up for. When I'm with them I can relax and be myself," he explained.

And slowly but surely word got out that he's on the straight and narrow and the phone started ringing again. A bit part in The Bill was followed by his Hello Dolly role and now he's in talks with ITV and East- Enders bosses.

So does Darren think his problems stem from having it all too fast? After all, having seen Jason Donovan opening in Joseph, he was the star within two years and one musical after another followed - Summer Holiday, Grease, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Alfie, Copacabana and Carousel, as well as the fiancées - Anna Friel, Tracy Shaw, Isla Fisher, dancer Adele Vellacott and HearSay's Suzanne Shaw, with whom he had a daughter.

"When I lost the plot you mean? No, because that was in '93 and I didn't really go off the rails until '97 drug-wise. I think it was partly because for the first four years my management company told me how to behave and I did what I was told and then I rebelled. Unfortunately the rebellion took over and I was on self destruct for the next nine years.

"That way of life stopped for me on November 28, 2005, and now I just want to be the best man I can be for my kids and my wife and do the right thing.

"And it isn't easy going on stage every night. Let's face it, when you've done it 100 times it's not as exciting as the first night. But for someone like me the demons will always be there and I'll always be fighting them, so I keep a picture of my kids in my pocket and if the demons raise their heads I just look at the photos to stay strong."

Hello Dolly opens on Monday. Box office on 0844 8471588.