WHILE Belinda Lang is no stranger to the theatre stage, the actress is relishing starring in a boot-stomping, epic musical.

The actress, known for playing Bill Porter in popular 1990s sitcom 2.4 Children, is appearing in Oklahoma — Rodgers & Hammerstein’s original feel-good show.

The tale of two sets of star-crossed lovers will be staged at The Lowry, Salford Quays, from March 17 to 21.

Belinda, who plays Aunt Eller in the touring production which opened in Northampton last month, said: "It's going amazingly well.

"I've never done one of these huge musicals.

"I think it's brilliant, I didn't quite know what to expect.

"It's very different. It's so much bigger, there's a huge cast, there's a big orchestra.

"It's just on an epic scale compared to what I normally do."

The daughter of two actors, she started her career working in theatre before landing a role in 2.4 Children, which ran from 1991 to 1999.

Belinda played Bill, the angst-ridden wife of layabout self-employed plumber, Ben, portrayed by actor Gary Olsen, who died from cancer in 2000, aged 42.

Belinda, aged 61, said: "I did a lot of tele in my early 30s.

"It was one thing after the other that culminated in me being in 2.4 Children for nine years.

"After Gary Olsen died, nobody offered me a part on TV for a long time.

"I was very connected to 2.4 Children."

Following the BBC sitcom, which also made stars of Clare Buckfield and John Pickard, she went back to the world of theatre.

She said: "I didn't want to just hang around to say a few silly lines.

"You just want to be able to stretch yourself all the time.

"I was very busy in the theatre for a long time.

"I'm less busy now. I started to become less busy five years ago and that turned into a very good thing.

"That made me think again."

In recent years, the mother-of-one has been able to turn her hand to directing thanks to having more time and deciding to make the leap.

She said: "I was a bit nervous, it's all very well me moaning about other people.

"What if I was no good?

"I thought, what the hell, I will give this a whirl."

She says there are fewer roles for both men and women as they get older but she can either be a "moaning old bat" or pursue other avenues.

She added: "I know there's a particular concern about females.

"There are not the parts and you can't conjure them up out of thin air — unless you're a brilliant writer which I'm not."

Belinda's current role in Oklahoma — of salt of the Earth and respected community leader Aunt Eller — will see her touring the country until August.

She said: "I haven't done anything as long as six months, I will probably be dead.

"I'm a bit daunted in one way and quite excited in another."

First staged in 1943, Oklahoma! broke all box office records when it opened, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 and scooping more than 35 major stage awards over the years.

Set in the Oklahoma territory in the early 1900s, the musical features popular songs including Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin, I Cain’t Say No, The Surrey With the Fringe on Top and Kansas City.

This latest production stars Gary Wilmot as Ali Hakim and features new choreography, by Drew McOnie, including a ballet sequence which Belinda says has moved cast members — including herself — to tears.

She said: "I think it's going to be the best (audiences) have seen, if they have seen it before.

"The attention to details in every department is quite extraordinary."

Oklamhoma! is on at The Lowry, from Tuesday, March 17, to Saturday, March 21.