JOANNA Lumley’s initial reaction to embark on her first nationwide live tour which comes to Blackburn next week, is just typical of an actress who has become a national treasure.

“When the tour was announced, my first concern was that I would have to pay people to come!” she laughed.

“I thought, ‘We will have to close the dress circle and pay people to sit in the stalls.’

“I once played a theatre on the south coast when we were doing a tour of Private Lives. The theatre shut the circle and the two side aisles of the stalls, so just the middle section was open. But there were still only two men, a dog and a mongoose. So I’m used to playing to sadly small audiences!”

That will certainly not be the case on this tour with Joanna performing to packed houses.

The actress said: “At first, I thought I was scared about this tour. But now I’m so excited. I think, ‘Yeah, how lovely!’”

In a career spanning more than four decades, Joanna has generated almost unparalleled levels of love and affection in a whole variety of genres.

Now 72, the performer, who lives in London with her husband, the conductor Stephen Barlow, says she is really looking forward to connecting with audiences up and down the country.

“The great thing about performing live is the audience,” she said. “I travel around London on the Tube, and people are constantly talking to me as if I’m their friend. They’ll say to me, ‘What we really liked about India was this…’

“Every theatre on this tour will be a room full of friends. Chatting to people is pretty much what I do anyway – I’m forever doing this at charity dos. I can’t wait!”

In It’s All About Me, Joanna will recount stories from every stage of her career, including timeless TV shows as Absolutely Fabulous and The New Avengers and her award-winning travel programmes. Many of these anecdotes will not have been heard in public before.

In addition, the show will feature a section where she is joined on stage by friend and producer Clive Tulloh who will pose her questions from the audience about everything they’ve always wanted to know about Joanna, but were afraid to ask.

Joanna, who has over the years worked tirelessly for a number of very worthy causes, notably the Gurkha Justice Campaign, and can currently be seen on ITV’s Silk Road Adventure, will have absolutely no shortage of material for the live show.

The actress, who in 2013 was rated one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the UK by Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio Four, reflects that, “When I look back on all the things I’ve done, it’s an absolutely gasp-making list!

She will be focusing on a few key roles in the show including her big breakthrough in 1976 when she was cast as Purdey, the kick-boxing crimefighter with the iconic hairdo starring alongside Patrick McNee and Gareth Hunt in the New Avengers.

She recalls: “There had been no Avengers series for 10 years. Our version just caught people’s imagination. Maybe it was time for that kind of adventure story again. But it was also ludicrous.

“In one episode, a rat ate some nuclear waste and became the size of a double-decker bus!”

Joanna, who was honoured with a Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards in 2013 and a BAFTA Fellowship Award last year, will also talk about her time on one of Britain’s most loved comedy series, Absolutely Fabulous.

From the very beginning, Joanna, who won two BAFTA Awards for her performance as Patsy, felt sure that Absolutely Fabulous would strike a chord with viewers.

She said: “I didn’t know Jennifer at the time, but when her script was sent to me, it was the funniest thing I’d ever read. I had no doubts about it.”

Most recently Joanna has travelled to places as diverse as India, Egypt, Greece and The Northern Lights..

“People love the travel shows,” she said. “They come up and tell me that they love the fact that I don’t talk down to the people I meet on my travels. I don’t find food revolting or customs silly just because they’re from other countries. People tell me they love being with me on these journeys and say they learn things they didn’t know beforehand. That’s very flattering.”

Looking at her extraordinary career, one of the reasons for its amazing longevity may well be Joanna’s very appealing ability not to take herself too seriously.

She said: “It’s great to be able to find fun in things. The ability to send yourself up helps you survive. If you don’t have that, you can get gloomy.”

Joanna Lumley: It’s All About Me, King George’s Hall, Blackburn, Wednesday, November 7. Details from 0844 847 1664 or www.kinggeorgeshall.com