In the first of a series of creative Hatfield personalities, the Review presents a profile of versatile entertainer Aiden Bell. Whether playing Riff-Raff in the Rocky Horror Show, Gandhi or even as a pantomime dame, Aiden is an international tour de force. Born on The Ryde estate in its early days of construction and educated at The Ryde School and Hatfield School, he gained his Guildhall School of Music and Drama Diploma in the Drama Department of East Herts College of Further Education before taking roles in UK National tours and productions of shows such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, James and The Giant Peach and A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum. The first musical he composed, Piper, about the child-disappearance in Hamelin, was produced at Campus West in 1987. Aidan played The Mayor: the Welwyn Hatfield Times reviewer wrote, "without question he was the star of the show -- it was magnificent".

Then Aidan left England in 1990 to join the European touring production of Hair, singing the role of Margaret Mead. The show played ten countries in 13 months - it was the first Western production to play in Berlin after the demolition of the wall. At the end of the tour he settled in Vienna for seven years, playing in Freudiana, writing and producing an annual revue, Christmas Bells, performing in many revues and concerts, making personal and television appearances, and making his name as Riff-Raff in the 20th-birthday production of The Rocky Horror Show. Leaving Vienna, he performed again in Germany (Chicago, Tommy, La Cage aux Folles, Jesus Christ Superstar); and in New Zealand (Troy - The Musical, Monarchy - The Musical and as an Orc in the film, The Lord of The Rings, The Return of The King).

Aidan returned to England in 2000, and after touring in the musical Scrooge, joined the world of pantomime, seen as villainous characters, then turning director and producer. He is now production executive for Pantoni Pantomimes, presenting a number of shows around the country each year. He is also extending his portfolio, multi-camera filming and creating DVDs of stage productions. Recently he shot in Rotterdam a safety film for river cruise ships; on holiday in South Africa he shot a wildlife DVD which induced the tour organizer to send him free on an Antarctic cruise to shoot another! Back at the ranch, he takes photographic headshots and dancer/action shots and produces demos, backing tracks and other music in his home studio (which is available for hire -- www.aidanbell.com/studio.html). Among other TV appearances, he has recently been featured in the Tetley Tea Bags cartoon commercial.

Primarily a singer, Aidan has recorded several CDs, including his solo album, Timewarp; live recordings of musical productions that he composed, produced or performed in in Vienna; and Abbey Road recordings of Hair (as Margaret Mead) and The Rocky Horror Show (as Riff-Raff) with Christopher Lee, Brian May and Anita Dobson. His own composition, "Summer Singalong", which he performs himself in character as "Mahatma Coat", is a hit on Cyprus Radio.

His website, www.aidanbell.com, showcases his credits, Showreel, vocal demos, photos and sample production videos. It also has links to the websites of other family members -- his brother Ian, co-author of the legendary space-trading computer game Elite, now on display in the Victoria and Albert Museums's British Design 1948-2012 exhibition; his sister Diana, now a singer, actress and radio/TV presenter in Cyprus; and his mother Hazel, whose professional life as an editor and indexer was so disrupted by bringing up an actor in the house that she wrote a book about it, A Stage Mother's Story: We're not all Mrs Worthingtons!

Reassuringly for Hatfield, the "Where the Hell is Aidan Bell?" page staunchly states: "Although ever tearing around within the country as well as travelling abroad, both within Europe and further afield, Aidan is still based at home in England; home base for his performance and directing work as well as audio, photography and video production".