Interview: Claire Sweeney talks ahead of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang run in Birmingham

There's a riot in the background. Claire Sweeney, the leggy Liverpudlian princess, is multi-tasking. She's trying to give us 30 minutes of her undivided attention but her son, Jaxon, has other ideas. Jaxon was born in 2014 when Claire was 43 – and he's the love of her life.

"Just bear with me a second, will you, please. . ." she says, as he fights for her attention. The former Brookside star gave birth shortly after splitting from Jaxon's father, Daniel Riley. She'd got engaged to her toy boy lover in a blaze of publicity, featuring in a photoshoot with Hello! and a three-carat diamond ring.

She'd spoken effusively to the magazine, telling the world how happy she was: "The reason I've never married or had children is because I take it very seriously and I hadn't met the right person. I'm a workaholic. I've had a great life and a fabulous career. It would take a very special man to make me stop and want to be with them. Daniel is that person. I was thrilled when he asked me to be his wife.

"When we first met, the age gap did hold me back. But the age difference is about the same between my parents. I felt it was about finding things in common, where you have the same values and morals. That happened over time and now I never notice the age difference. I'm actually surprised when people mention it."

It didn't last.

And when the couple split, Claire dedicated her life to Jaxon. She'd been terrified of dying in childbirth, given her age. She even rewrote her will the day before he was born, in case of complications. "I was 43 when I had Jaxon and I was convinced I was going to die in childbirth. So I rewrote my will the day before I had Jaxon just to make sure everything was protected and in place 'cos my will had been written about 10 years ago and things change."

Today those thoughts are the furthest thing from her mind as the youngster plays happily in the background. She's a proud single mum, combining a lucrative, creative career with lone parenting. She picks and chooses roles to fit in with her boy. And her present role as Baroness Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fitted perfectly with those ideas.

"I opened a little while back in Cardiff and I know this sounds a bit mad but I think it's one of the happiest and most fun roles I've ever done. It's really good fun. It's a really brilliant show."

The reason she loves it is because of Jaxon. "It's true. Since I've had my child, I look at shows differently. You see the magic, you see the kids in the audience, it's wonderful. When the car came on stage, my son was enthralled. He just loved it. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a classic, it's magical."

She started the show alongside Shaun Williamson, best known for The Railway Children and EastEnders, as Baron Bombhurst. Shaun featured for a short run before Claire hooked up with Phill Jupitus.

"Phill is totally different from Shaun and so the show has completely changed. That's the way things happen. I've adjusted my performance because we play it differently. The theatre is like that. I think when I did Guys and Dolls as Miss Adelaide, I changed partners about nine times."

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome until next weekend and it will bring Claire back to a former stomping ground.

"I love Brum. I've spent a lot of time there. But I've never performed at the Hippodrome before. I've always done the New Alex or been at Wolverhampton at The Grand. I love both of those places. But I know Birmingham really well. A few years ago, I used to go out with the West Brom goalie, Alan Miller. We used to go to all the games and I spent a lot of time there. So to come back now is great fun because it's all changed. There used to be the Bullring but now it's all high-end shops.

"I hear the restaurants are good, too, but I'm not too sure about them. The thing with us is that we don't finish work until 10.15pm, so finding somewhere that's open and is willing to serve us is the hardest thing."

Jaxon will be with Claire when she hunkers down at the Hippodrome. He's been on the road since he was born, visiting theatres so that his mum isn't parted from him. Claire has help, travelling with a nanny.

"I have a wonderful lady with me and that makes a massive difference. I couldn't leave Jaxon at home with my mum, I want him to be with me. But it works out brilliantly. Being in the theatre isn't like a nine to five job. I don't start work until 6pm most days, so unlike most working mums I'm home or I've got the day spare when I'm on the road. So I actually get to spend more time with him than most women might. I think I'm very lucky."

Claire's life changed when her son was born. She stopped watching upsetting stories on the news and was troubled by anything where youngsters came to harm. She became much more sensitive as she reflected on the importance of her son.

"I don't mind admitting it, I became much softer. Before Jaxon, it was all about me and my work. I had boyfriends, of course, but I didn't have to consider anyone as much as I've considered Jaxon. Now, everything's about him. I didn't know you could love this much. People say it and it's true: you don't really know what it's like until you have them. You hear everyone saying it, but you don't understand it.

"When I'm in Birmingham, it won't be about Selfridges and Harvey Nics. It'll be about finding a little kids club so Jaxon can play with some other kids. You don't know any, do you?"

Claire is one of the UK's pre-eminent musical theatre stars. Her life changed when she took the role of Roxie Hart, in Chicago, in London. In truth, however, her career had always been moving towards starring roles.

She started out at the age of 11 at the Elliott-Clarke Theatre School, in Liverpool. She loved every moment and was soon entering disco dancing competitions. By the age of 14, her mentors had recognised her talent as a singer/dancer and she started playing social clubs around the North West.

"I was on before the bingo and after the butties. It was real Phoenix Nights stuff. That was my apprenticeship."

She went to the famed Italia Conte Academy of Theatre Arts in London as a 17-year-old and then worked on cruise ships.

"I loved the cruise ships. They were great."

And then she got her big break. Brookside gave her a role as Lindsey Corkhill in 1989 and she never looked back. As her character developed, she brought trouble to her dysfunctional parents, Jimmy and Jackie, by becoming involved in organised crime and drug smuggling. There were troubles with lovers, shady dealings and only fleeting moments of happiness.

"It was all a whirlwind. The cruise ships were brilliant because they gave me the opportunity to travel the world.

"You know, as a kid, I'd been working in my dad's butcher's shop, so anything was better than that. I'd be chopping meat and serving meat and working a full day, then in the evening I'd go and sing and earn more in 30 minutes than I'd earned all day. And I loved the applause. I knew I wanted to do it.

"The cruise ships gave me the chance to earn and learn. The dream was never TV or a soap, it was always to get into musical theatre. I was playing parts that I could learn, long before I auditioned for the West End.

"And I loved being on the road. I fell in love with Bali, I loved Russia and Norway was beautiful – the thing I loved most about it was the smoothness of the seas, there was never a rocky ship when we went to Norway."

Brookside changed Claire's life. "I became a bit well know. But it also gave me stability, which I'd never had before. Before, I'd get up every day and be in a different town or a different country. Suddenly, I was no longer transient.

"But it was hard work. I was filming Brookside from Monday to Friday then I was coming down to Birmingham to spend the weekend with Alan. We'd go out at Liberties or the Midlands Wheel. It was busy. I'd be up at 6.30am and in the make-up chair for 8am to get ready as Lindsey. Then when I started to dominate the storylines, I'd film until 8pm. After that, I'd get home and learn my lines between 9pm and 10pm for the next day. It was the hardest thing I ever did. I learned how good the actors and the writers are on soap operas."

During her Brookside years, Claire was invited to star on the first Celebrity Big Brother, which was in aid of Comic Relief. It was massive.

"Suddenly, I was Claire. I wasn't Lindsey. Richard Curtis had asked me to do it. I spoke to Phil Redmond, at Brookside, and he said it would be fine. I had no idea how big it would be. I went in as Lindsey and I came out as Claire. I wasn't prepared for how my life would change.

"When I came out, I got my own Saturday night TV show, I became a Forces sweetheart and I became the face of Marks & Spencer: all that for drinking tea in a house.

"All of my dreams came true when I came out. I had always wanted those sorts of things to happen but I didn't imagine they'd happen in one go.

"I was thankful they did because it meant I could become a mum later in life. I felt like I'd done everything by the time I had Jaxon."

Claire is still in demand. She returned to Loose Women recently, having been a regular on the show for several years. "It's great, you just sit around with your mates and chat."

She's starred in 60 Minute Make Over and had her own radio show. She's also enjoyed a glittering musical theatre career. "Roxie, in Chicago, was the first one. I did years of telly after that, but then I came back to theatre, which I love. I gave up 60 Minute Make Over to do Guys and Dolls with Patrick Swayze and he was adorable. It was a wonderful time."

She was even named Rear of the Year. Claire laughs. "Yes, we can't analyse that. I don't take everything seriously."

She's visited the Hippodrome in recent years to watch the annual panto. "It's the best in the country, so it'll be great to be on the stage rather than in the stalls."

And she's also had her own play, Sex and Suburbia, which toured provincial theatres two years ago. She wrote it with a friend and it was based on real conversations among her friends.

"It was a comedy about mine and all my friends dating stories. The baby was very young then and it was hard, driving from venue to venue. But Chitty is great because it's a brilliant show and I get a bit of downtime.

"It's a great job, but it's great for my lifestyle and my family and that's the most important thing of all. The schedule is fantastic. I can have a life, earn my money then get home and see my son. Writing my own play was a lot of pressure and I wouldn't rush back to that. With Chitty, I'm part of a well-oiled machine, it's a big hit and I get to bring up my son."

Life has dealt Claire an ace hand. And she is enjoying every moment.

By Andy Richardson

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is on at Birmingham Hippodrome until Sunday, September 18. Performance times vary: 1pm, 2pm, 2.30pm, 5pm and 7.30pm. Tickets cost from £23.50. Book at birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0844 338 5000.