IN reaching the final of last year’s Strictly Come Dancing, singer and TV presenter Louise Redknapp faced new challenges on a weekly basis.

But now, as she prepares to come to Manchester in the musical Cabaret, she faces one of her biggest challenges to date.

Set in pre-war Berlin, Louise plays nightclub singer Sally Bowles, the role made famous by Lisa Minelli in the Oscar-winning movie

Before the show, which co-stars Will Young as the Emcee, rolls into the Lowry, Salford Quays, Louise took some time out to answer a few questions.

Has doing Strictly Come Dancing given you the confidence to take on such a demanding musical?

Strictly helped me hugely and it reminded me more than anything how much I love to perform. When you have a family you don’t do it for a long time. It’s very easy to fall into a comfort zone, thinking ‘I used to do that’.

Strictly reminded me how much I love playing characters. For all of my dances I was always a character with a bit of a storyline to invest in being someone else for three-and-a-half minutes. I realised again how much I love singing, dancing and performing.

The thought of not having the opportunity to carry on doing it was kind of devastating for me, but luckily this opportunity came along and I thought ‘Right, I need to give this a go’.

What are the big challenges for you as a performer?

[Laughs] Losing all my inhibitions. Coming into it I thought it would be the big note at the end of the song Mein Herr or remembering all the lines, but actually the challenge is to not be inhibited.

Sally is a big character and she’s very flamboyant. For me, to play that takes a lot of work because I’m not naturally the person who pushes herself to the front of a line.

Sally fully believes in herself and goes completely over-the-top – or rather she does sometimes and sometimes we see her vulnerable side – so for me it’s about losing all my inhibitions and giving it everything I’ve got.

This is your first big stage musical. Any nerves?

I’m so nervous. It’s a massive role with massive songs, a huge storyline and a huge script, with dancing thrown in. I don’t want to let myself down and I don’t want to let down the people around me.

I want to do everyone proud and I want to do Sally Bowles proud. But I think nerves show you care and that it means a lot to you.

I don’t take this role lightly and I don’t take being in the theatre lightly. I know it’s hard work and you have to give it everything you’ve got. People are spending their money to come watch you and you don’t want to disappoint them. You want them leaving the theatre really satisfied.

How is it working with your friend Will Young, who plays the Emcee?

Not only is Will a great mate, he’s done the show a couple of times before and he’s brilliant at it. Every day I learn something new from watching him because he’s so uninhibited in how he throws himself into the role

For me it’s great having a mate there because we can go and have breakfast and lunch together, talk about the kids and hang out, but he’s also a great performer and a pleasure to work with and watch.

What is it about Cabaret and the character of Sally Bowles that you think make them so iconic?

There are so many things. There’s the set-up of the show in the 1930s and the historical, political element behind it, which gives it a lot of depth. And what makes Sally herself so interesting is that she’s extremely vulnerable, she’s extremely fragile, yet on the outside she’s this very ballsy woman who wants to be a star and does all she can to survive.

Liza Minnelli won an Oscar for the film version. Have you deliberately avoided re-watching it?

The film’s very different because Sally is an American in it and of course she’s played brilliantly by Liza Minnelli. But the show is based on the original book where she’s very British, very well-spoken, and she’s gone over to Berlin to be a cabaret star. It turns out to be much more sordid than she thought it would be and it’s dog-eat-dog.

I’ve watched the film many times and I’ve loved it since I was a young girl, but I’ve tried not to watch it now because the stage musical has a very different take on Sally Bowles to the film.

Can you relate to Sally in any way?

Absolutely there are parts of her I can relate to. I think lots of women will relate to how she puts on a brave face and always soldiers on even when she’s terribly wounded and terribly hurt and insecure and unsure.

I think many women can relate to elements of that, though maybe they don’t go as far as Sally does. She does everything to extremes.

What are you most relishing about playing her?

She’s such a different character to the person I am. She’s very ballsy and sexy, very over-the-top and eccentric. That’s one of the reasons the role was so appealing, but also she gets to sing some of the most incredible songs.

Cabaret, the Lowry, Salford Quays, Tuesday, November 7 to Saturday, November 11. Details from 0843 208 6000 or www.the lowry.com