Ruthie Henshall has taken her two daughters to school and walked the dog, and is preparing for a number of phone interviews with journalists, before getting ready to clean the house and cook some dinner.

“Very boring,“ she laughs, “and not at all glamorous!“

This behind-the-scenes side of one of Britain’s best-loved and most successful stage actors and performers has proved so popular with Joe Public that Ruthie has had to take her one-woman show, An Intimate Evening with Ruthie Henshall, on the road again.

“I’ve been knocked out by the response it’s had,“ says the 46-year-old star of the West End and Broadway. “I’m so used to playing parts in a show, playing a character, that I wasn’t sure if I would like this, but I love it. It’s really very liberating.“

The show takes fans on a musical journey through Ruthie’s career, from working with Lionel Bart, to her first starring role in Crazy for You in 1993, to playing in the original cast of Chicago in the West End, as Roxie, to receiving her Olivier Award for She Loves Me in 1995.

She will be telling stories about people that she’s met and the things she’s done in her almost 30-year career, and singing songs both from shows she’s appeared in and that have personal meaning for her.

“I’m very happy to reveal myself,“ she says, “and I’ve learnt a lot about myself, putting the show together. I’m always cast in a lot of fairly tragic roles – ‘She does musical theatre and she dies a lot’ is my reputation! – but I really, really love the funny stuff, I love making the audience laugh.“

Come May, Ruthie will be taking on the role of Mrs Wilkinson, made famous by Julie Walters, in the musical Billy Elliott. “I’m thrilled about it,“ she says.

“Each new show still has that magic for me that it did back when I was starting out in Crazy for You and Chicago, each show is a new high.

“I can’t believe my luck – I get to dress up for a living and they pay me for it!“

  • An Intimate Evening with Ruthie Henshall is at the Radlett Centre, Aldenham Avenue, Radlett, on Thursday, March 20 at 8pm. Details: 01923 859291, radlettcentre.co.uk