Miriam Zendle talks to the former Spice Girl, now the West End's Mrs J...
This is your first Oliviers?
Yes, and hopefully not my last.
How was it for you?
Brilliant, I absolutely had a great, great night. I was performing quite early on in proceedings, which was good because I was very nervous. At least I was able to get that done and enjoy myself, in a really nice way.
Must be quite a surreal experience for you?
Yeah. I did find that really daunting, because this is my first ever theatre role. I feel like I have a lot to prove. It's a whole new area for me, and the nomination alone [for Best Actress in a Musical] has helped me feel like I'm quite accepted in the world. I definitely felt like I had to prove myself tonight and I hope I've done that.
You've had a lot of critical plaudits for your role in Blood Brothers - did that surprise you?
I've always loved and enjoyed acting, but never done it professionally. When I took on this role, I knew it was a big role, I had big shoes to fill. I thought, if I work really really hard, I think I can do a good job. And then after our wonderful reviews, it was like the hard work paid off.
Is the next step more theatre?
You know what, I'd love to do more theatre. I've had a really good time. I still want to continue in music as well, so my next project will be an album, but I definitely want to do more theatre in the future.
