Bonnie Langford looks forward to the 9-5 at Milton Keynes

‘Working nine to five, what a way to make a living,’ eh?

Not that my interviewee is best-placed to comment: Bonnie Langford has never experienced the plod-plod of a routine office position.

“I’ve never had a proper job,” she declares, ‘...and there’s not so much of a structure in the acting profession.

“Showbiz is a fickle old job and it can be frustrating...”

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And though it is undeniably rather more agreeable than sitting on a production line, don’t think these acting sorts don’t earn their wages: I speak with her when she makes a whistle-stop visit to Milton Keynes Theatre to promote the show she will star in from Monday.

She holds court with journalists, gives a buzzy preview performance before an assembled clan of theatre friends and then leaves the rest of the cast behind while she hotfoots it back to another theatre: “I’ve been extremely lucky in my career,” she acknowledges. “Sometimes you feel down of course, but you always have to put on a happy face, or put on a face, and go to work...I’m just doing my job.

“It’s not going down the mines though, is it?” she says, keen to keep the pitfalls and down days of her profession in check.

Besides, Miss Langford sounds and looks particularly Bonny today!

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She has been starring alongside Jackie Clune, Amy Lennox and Natalie Casey in 9 To 5: The Musical for a few months now, and having a blast.

The musical, with an original score by Dolly Parton herself, is bursting with friendship, gossip, poison and murder...and lots of humour too.

“It’s a period piece set in the 1970s, and is nostalgic for those times. It appeals to quite an eclectic mix of audiences, but particularly to women...and they can get quite vocal!” she laughs.

Bonnie plays Roz Keith, a rather lonely secretary who has the hots for her boss, played by former Brookside favourite Mark Moraghan.

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The same sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot of a boss who is uniformly loathed by the other female employees.

And what of Dolly?

“She is an extremely talented songwriter and singer and a canny businesswoman too,” Bonnie says, “...a survivor who has maintained her integrity, charm, and that infectious personality.”

That infectious personality never rings louder than in the musical. Call 0844 871 7652 to book.