"I've watched all these reality shows and I've always avoided them, but I finally thought, 'It's now or never'. I'm a frustrated singer really," admits Mark, who left Holby City last Christmas to pursue a career in music and film.
"I've done a couple of things with big bands over the last couple of years and it's given me the bug again. But it's slightly differnet when you're performing in front of an audience of millions and singing with the BBC Orchestra and the focus just being on you."
"Now we're rehearsing, I'm struggling with some of the notes. My biggest worry is nerves. When you're too nervous it can affect your voice, and that's happened to me before and that could wreck everything. I don't want to let Natasha down. I didn't want to say the wrong thing or step on her toes at first, but now we're having a good crack and I can tease her. We're more like mates, but she will push me when she has to. She's patient and makes me sing songs again and again until it's right and I take that on board."
"Maybe it's the Scouse nasal thing, but our voices work well together. We've both got similar tastes in music and are comfortable with big band and sould numbers."
The show has givcen the Liverpudlilan actor, who is best known for his roles as Holby's lady-killer consultant obstetrician Owen Davis and Brookside's Greg Shadwick, a new lease of life after he broke his leg in a football match.
"I'm still on crutches and it is a bit restrictive, but I'm hoping that by the time we perform I won't need them," he reveals, before adding, "I'm not after the sympathy vote!"
Holby City actor and Liverpool FC fanatic Mark Moraghan on how his ’lucky tie’ inspired the Reds to Champions League glory and why we must not give up hope of catching Chelsea in the Premiership.
Liverpool are in another European Final on Friday but I don't think anything will ever emulate the last one and I'd like to think that I played some a part in that success.
The whole Istanbul experience was something I'll never forget as long as I live but I'm not sure it would have happened if it hadn't been for my lucky tie!
I have to admit that when I go to the match I normally wear a club tie. I bought a new one last season and since I got it we have never lost a game when I've worn it.
I took it with me to Istanbul and proudly wore it over my t-shirt. At three goals down I took the tie off and put it in my pocket. But when Gerrard scored the tie went on again and the rest is history, so I think I can safely say it was all down to my lucky tie!
Seriously though, the way we came back was unbelievable. I was there with my wife Sarah and at half-time she said 'keep the faith'. I said 'keep the faith; we've got no chance. You don't score three goals against AC Milan!' Then lo and behold we came back.
It really was something else. From start to finish it was an absolutely fantastic day. We set off very early in the morning from Speke and we were full of hopes and dreams. I remember arriving at the airport with Liverpool scarves and fezzes draped over the John Lennon statues. In the back of mymind I didn't really believe we could beat AC Milan but you go along anyway, give the lads all the support you can and live in hope that we are going to do it.
Getting to the Ataturk Stadium was an absolute nightmare. I just remember hundreds of fans walking across all that wasteland and taxis going the wrong side of the road with beer cans stuck on the roof! It was just nuts and there was some great banter flying around.
When we finally made it into the stadium the atmosphere was just amazing. It wasn't the best of grounds but the Liverpool fans were outstanding, especially at half-time when we started singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone!' I was slumped in my seat with my head in my hands but once everyone started singing I was soon up again singing at the top of my voice.
Then Steven Gerrard scored and I must admit I didn't celebrate because I thought it was only going to be a consolation goal. But the tie went back on and once Smicer added the second there was no stopping us.
The rest of the night is a blur to be honest and it's only after watching the game on DVD that it all came back to me. It's put us firmly back on the map and I think the club now has the confidence to go on from this.
Already you can notice the change in attitude of the players. Against Middlesbrough on the opening day of the season we just looked a better all-round team. We were more confident and created lots of chances and I think it will stand us in good stead for the rest of the season, especially away from home, which is where we need it.
After witnessing Liverpool win the Champions League in such dramatic fashion nothing would give me greater pleasure now than to see us reclaim our rightful crown as Kings of England.
As a boyhood Liverpudlian I was used to us winning the title almost every season. I've been a fan since I was about five back in 1967. I can't remember my first match but I've been told it was a Merseysidederby. I'm from Toxteth like Robbie Fowler and my dad used to take me in the Kop on his shoulders.
All of my family are Reds and if I wasn't an actor I would have loved to have played for Liverpool. Not that I was ever good enough! My claim to fame was playing at Anfield before Ronnie Moran's testimonial. I was marking Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, who are two of my all-time heroes, so it was an extra special occasion for me.
My favourite player now is Gerrard, who I believe is the complete footballer. He is just getting better and better and him agreeing to stay was the best signing of the summer for me. I also like the look of Momo Sissoko and the way he puts himself about. He looks like he is going to be a good player.
As for Rafael Benitez, what can I say? He is absolutely fantastic and has done a great job so far. I honestly think he will deliver us the title sooner rather than later. That is the one we want and Rafa is the man to lead us to our holy grail. Whether it will be this season I don't know but we can't give up after just two games.
Everyone is saying the title will be going to Chelsea again and with three wins out of three they've already made a great start to the season but as the lads proved in Istanbul nothing is impossible in this game.
And if they need a helping hand, there's always my lucky tie. I'm ironing it now in readiness for the game against CSKA Moscow!
'I'm sailing off into the sunset in September after four-and-a-half-years in Holby,' jokes Mark Moraghan, who plays Owen. But he reassures fans that Owen won't meet a grisly end. 'It's a dramatic exit, but I don't die. It's reassuring to know the door's always open for a comeback. You can never say never and I'll really miss everyone - it's a cliche, but they're like family to me.'
But will Owen resolve things with Chrissie before he leaves? 'Owen's a coward,' continues Mark. 'He's trying to do the right thing, but it's not right for him. And he's terrified Chrissie will tell Diane what happened. Let's just say it's not all over between Owen and Chrissie. There's a lot of emotional to-ing and dro-ing over the next few months.'
'There are times when Owen can't keep his eyes off Chrissie,' adds Tina. 'I'm not sure they'll ever be happy. Chrissie never knows when she's on to a good thing. She realises she's played it all wrong with Owen, while he has regrets of his own. He marries the nice girl, but no one really wants the nice girl do they?'
So what's Mark up to once Owen makes his exit? 'I'd like to do something different. I'm hoping to do a West End musical,' he says. 'I'd also love to do some film work - perhaps play Robin Hood or slip on some armour and have a sword fight.'
Mark's departure is sad for the rest of the Holby cast. 'I can't even think about him leaving,' says Tina. 'I adore Mark - he's a really special person and I think it's going to be a very different show without him.'
Carrying a bouquet - and possibly Ed Keating's baby - Holby City's Chrissie tries to put her wild days behind her to become Mrs Owen Davis. But can their marriage survive all the secrets and lies?
Chrissie Williams, getting wed in white? The girl's got more front than Blackpool ... Because, let's face it, Holby's residednt Sister - a woman who's brought a new meaning to the term 'doing the rounds' is hardly the blushing bride. In fact, her catalogue of romances is enough to make Peter Stringfellow's love life look positively mundane.
First, there was her fling 'part one', with the then happily married surgeon Owen Davis (Mark Moraghan) when they worked together at a different hospital, after which Owen crawled back to wife Laura, while Chrissie scarpered to Holby, soon studying anatomy with another another married surgeon - Alastair Taylor. Then, who should turn up at Holby but Owen, marriage intact once again. But not for long, though, because the couple couldn't resist 'part two' ... Cue Laura to declare 'enough's enough', leaving Owen free to make Chrissie Mrs Davis No. 2. Well, at least it's a happy ending.
There's just one small problem - for the last few months, Chrissie's been doing her bit for staff relations and putting in some overtime with registrar Ed Keating (Rocky Marshall). She's pregnant, and it's anyone's guess who the father is. Sounds like she's leading Owen a merry dance.
'No, not at all, she really does love him,' argues Tina Hobley, who plays the flighty nurse. 'Her affair with Ed was just about Chrissie needing excitement and risk. Owen's good for her; he grounds her and she thinks that now is the time to settle down.'
And so Chrissie says goodbye to her single days, though it looks as though Mr and Mrs Davis are in for a bumpy ride. First of all, Owen, blissfully unaware his bride has been playing away, made the rather unfortunate choice of Ed as his best man. Then there's a pre-wedding panic when she realises that Mubbs Hussein (Ian Aspinall) knows about the affair. Even the cake doesn't make it to the wedding venue unscathed. And despite Chrissie's good intentions, she can't resist one last clinch with her old flame, Ed.
Says Tina: 'The irony is, the wedding itself is really beautiful, considering there are so many lies at the heart of it. I found it really moving, and Mark kept nudging me and saying, 'We're only acting!' You think this couple are going to be together forever, and the whole point is that she really is trying to make a go of it'
So is there any hope of them living happily ever after? Let's just say the prognosis sin't looking good. 'After her marriage, she's completely commited to Owen, but the past does come back to haunt her,' says Tina. 'That's a shame, because I really couldn't bear it if they split up. It'd be so nice to see another side to Chrissie instead of her just being the man-eater!'
Dream Team's soccer-daft star loves his drama role - coaching football
Handsome Mark Moraghan was shattered when he was "killed off" in Brookside. But it turned out to the bone of the luckiest breaks of his career. For the soccer-mad actor, who had women drooling as sexy builder Greg Shadwick in the Channel 4 Soap, is loving every minute of his role in football drama Dream Team.
'It was a blessing in disguise,' smiles Mark, 'But I didn't think so at the time. I couldn't understand why the boss, Phil Redmond, pulled the plug on the hunky brickie. They said it was because Greg was so popular that the ratings for his death would be high. But I didn't understand the logic. The ratings wouldn't necessarily stay high after Greg's death. After all, he'd no longer be around to generate big audiences. I told the boss I thought he was making a mistake. We disagreed, but it was amicable.'
But now, 36-year-old Mark has no regrets. 'Greg's departure gave me an awful lot of publicity,' he says. 'And it enabled me to appear in Dream Team, which I simply adore. I get to play lots and lots of football. We spend hours on end kicking a ball around. It's just terrific!'
Mark received loads of fan mail while he was in the soap. 'There was nothing too outlandish from female viewers, although I got a surprising number of letters from gay men,' he giggles. 'They were - how can I put this? - more expressive than some of the women who wrote to me, suggesting we did all sorts of things together. But I just laughed. I'm a happily married family man. Do these guys seriously think I'd be up for anything like that?'
In fact, he says his wife Sarah reads all his mail - and was often in stitches. 'Like me, she takes all this sex symbol stuff with a pinch of salt,' says Mark. 'She knows it doesn't mean anything, but it was flattering to receive so much mail.' The couple, who have been together since meeting at a friend's 21st birthday party 15 years ago, have two daughters - Jade, 13, and nine-year-old Hollie.
Living near Chester has bother advantages and disadvantages for Mark. The upside is that it's handy for him to get to his beloved Liverpool football ground at Anfield. The downside is that he is away in London filming Dream Team during the week and only gets home at weekends.
He didn't have to do too much research for his role as Harchester United coach Ray Wyatt in the satellite TV drama - he has lived and breathed football since his dad first took him to watch Liverpool as a small boy. 'I used to sit on his shoulders on The Kop,' he recalls. 'I've been an avid fan ever since.' Mark's interest in the game isn't confined to watching - he also plays for charity side The All Stars with former soccer greats Frank Worthington and Asa Hartford. 'I've learnt so much from them,' he says. 'It's a far cry from the days when I used to run around like a headless chicken!'
finding yourself perched next to Mark Moraghan on a deep apricot, Roman-style chaise longue, part of the gaudy set of Brookside's new Millennium Club, is enough to give anyone a complex. The actor who plays Greg Shadwick is strapping, well-groomed and smartly dressed. And with his flecked designer grey hair, comparisons with George Clooney are inevitable - until he opens his mouth and out comes a broad Scouse accent.
He speaks softly, though, ana he's obviously shy. In fact, he seems like every mum's dream man/son-in-law/good neighbour rolled into one. He's a good sport, too. For our photo shoot he had to contend with Karen Drury, who plays his on-screen squeeze, Susannah Farnham, constantly flicking his shirt sleeve down over his shoulder so she could get at more of his hairy chest. 'We've had enough loves scenes to last us a lifetime', jokes Mark. 'My youngest daughter, Hollie, even said to me: 'Daddy, if you do any more kissing you'll get chapped lips!'
Luckily for his overworked lips, it will all come to an end next week with an explosive Brookie episode, when a bomb planted by the Finnegans lays waste the Millennium Club on its opening night - while Susannah and Greg are too busy making love in the sports changing rooms to take any notice of danger warnings. 'At least I'm going out with a bang!' laughs Mark, 36. 'They decided to end their fling, but nipped out the back for one last quickie, for old time's sake. Susannah survives only because Greg takes the full force of the blast. And his son, Jason, gets caught up in the mayhem while frantically looking for his dad.'
Mark's 22 months in the soap will leave him with many happy memories. They've also turned him into a sex symbol, which is something he certainly hadn't bargained on. 'It's so embarrassing. People tell me their mums fancy me and I have no idea what to do except smile. I've done lots of steamy sex scenes lately but I'm not a big fan of getting my kit off in public. People assume us actors can't wait to rip off our clothes at the first opportunity, but I'm a bit shy and retiring, really. The lads I play football with are forever giving me stick.'
Mark admits that that he hasn't got much in common with Greg - and as far as he's concerned that's a good thing. 'He's too Victorian for me. Always laying down the law but not being a good boy himself. I'm far more liberal and open-minded. My kids know thay can talk to me about anything. I don't rule wih an iron fist like him.'
Mark lives near Chester with his family - his wife, Sarah, and daughters Jade, 13, and Hollie, 9. He met Sarah at a mate's 21st birthday party in the mid-80s and they married six years ago. He admits that the pressure of being in a soap does take its toll on family life. 'The workload is tremendous. I'm up before the kids, in work at 8am and I often work through to the late evening. Then when I get home I've got to learn my lines for the next day. So I don't see my family as much as I should.'
I try to keep Friday nights and Saturdays free of work so I can spend time with them. But I'm starting a new job soon in London, so I'll probably see even less of them during the week. That's how it goes - I'm used to it.' The new job is for Sky One's football soap, Dream Team. Mark will play the first team coach Ray wyatt and the producers were adamant that he should keep his Scouse accent for the role.
Mark grew up in Toxteth, one of Liverpool's toughest neighborhoods, and he's proud of his lovcal roots. 'I love Liverpool and its people, but it has had a bad press over the years from writers like Beryl Bainbridge who portray us as scallies, up to no good. But every city has its problems. Liverpool is no different from everywhere else.'
After getting this off his chest, Mark also points out how much Liverpudlians love to laugh at themselves - as he demonstrated when he donned a curly wig and false moustache to play one of comic Harry Enfield's Scousers in the famous Brookie mickey-take. 'Every scouser I know loved The Scousers,' he says. 'They weren't offended at all by the stereotype. I know someone, not a milion miles away from the Brookie set, who's exactly like that. He shall remain nameless.'
Other acting roles have included Michelle Collins' cheating fiance in the BBC drama Real Women and a judge exterminated by a robot in Judge Dredd. While filming this mega-budget sci-fi film Mark got to chat to Sylvester Stallone - 'a top fella' apparently. In his time Mark has turned his hand to many jobs - truck driver, van driver, carpet fitter - but acting has always been his passion.
It started in 1978 when the BBC came to my secondary school auditioning for parts in a Willy Russell TV play called Lies. Two of us got the leads. From then on I got the bug and joined local theatre groups and acting workshops.' But his career could have taken another turn int he late Seventies - he became a singer for the rock group, Personal Column. 'We were very political, doing loads fo anti-Nazi gigs. But they weren't the wild drunken times you might imagine. I've never been one for boozing to excess. I didn't stay with the band very long because I wanted to break into acting.'
Mark also has a life-long passion for Liverpool Football Club. 'I go to every home and away match and sit next to my friend, Gary Mavers, from Peak Practice. My girls are fans, too. That's one thing I've been strict about! No way would I allow them to support anyone else.'' Maybe some of that bossy Greg Shadwick has rubbed off on Mark after all ...