I met Derek in 2010 and he quickly became a friend who I often saw at PJ’s, He supported me throughout my performing career in the UK by coming along to see every stage production, including; The Sound of Music, Seussical West End , Tommy The Musical in the West End and also a trip to Manchester to see me in Spring Awakening. Derek was a huge fan of Peter Allen, who of course was my introduction to the business, when in 1996 I played Young Peter Allen in the world premiere of The Boy from Oz. Derek told me that he was lucky to see Peter perform in a small concert in the West End many years earlier. Later on I worked for Derek as a Casting Assistant at the BBC on Casualty, The Coroner and Father Brown before returning to Australia to pick up my career in casting. Derek was funny and clever and incredibly knowedgeable about the business, he was a good friend, I’ll always remember him.
