Bonnie Langford, who has been in show business for 50 years, explains that she struggles with her dark side.

The podium is my happy place,” says Bonnie Langford. “It’s always been like that since I was little.

“So it’s nice to be back with a refreshing and happy production after Covid. I feel like I’m on my feet again.’

Bonnie tours the country in Cole Porter’s brilliant 1930s musical Everything Goes. The 57-year-old plays Kerry Ellis, Denis Lawson, and Simon Callow, as well as her domineering mother, Evangeline Harcourt, in a star-studded cast.

Also in 1972, Theater Royal celebrates its 50th anniversary as a West End artist who debuted at age seven as Scarlett O’Hara’s daughter in the musical adaptation of Gone with the Wind on Drury Lane. This was quite a success. problem.

“Princess Anne came to the gala show and Sir Noël Coward was in the audience.” He recalls his decision, associating the girl’s performance with the performance of a horse making a mess on stage. “We can solve two problems at once: push the baby up the horse’s ass.” Bonnie laughs. “I was that boy!”

You’d expect him to laugh because before Bonnie played the role of Violet Elizabeth Bott in Just William, she made an old public faux pas since winning the Opportunity Knocks at the age of six. But today we see a different side.

“Maybe in my past I shrugged and was cheerful. It’s part of my job.

“But you are not alone,” she says when we meet at a cafe near Liverpool Empire.

‘No one is like that. If so, something terrible is going on behind the scenes because we are not all happy all the time.’

He has been a longtime lead on the West End scene, starring in Cats, Chicago, and 42nd Street, among others. But Bonnie surprised people with a bold and heartwarming performance as market inspector Carmel Kazemi at EastEnders a few years ago.

“I took this crime story with a knife and it was a great thing to do, but people said, ‘God, I didn’t know you could do it.

Carmel is heartbroken after losing her two children and will not be returning after moving to Dubai. Bonnie says she’s seen the show change.

“It might have been interesting to show her recovery, but it’s not sensational,” she says. “They have to get ratings.

“Sometimes they need a helicopter or a bus to land right in the middle of Walford. Otherwise you won’t get the Soap Rewards.

This is a quiet, loving Bonnie, her signature auburn hair pulled back, eating scrambled eggs on toast and looking back at her career. “A few weeks ago, I looked at newspaper clippings from years ago,” she says.

“I found it difficult, it’s really disturbing, because I know who I am as a person but I could see how I was portrayed. I could see how I was contributing to that.

Bonnie was raised to perform by her mother, Babette, who was still 91 and had her own dance school in Richmond.

Bonnie stars as Violet Elizabeth Bott in the 1978 children’s show Just William. The light entertainment world in the 1970s was a dangerous place to be as a young woman, she says.

“I remember being on stage at a young age with my older sisters on either side of me, holding my hands. I got them to support me.’

It seemed natural to audition for the Opportunity Knocks in 1971 for Shirley Temple’s song On The Good Ship Lollipop because she was still singing at her mother’s annual school show.

“I wasn’t forced into anything. My life didn’t change because when I got home everything was consistent.

“My mom used to come with me for most things because I was underage and needed a companion. There was no pressure on me.

However, the light entertainment world was a dangerous place to be as a young woman in the 1970s when Jimmy Savile and other abusers were running around. “What happened is terrible.

“As a child, I had a strong instinct for people. In a situation where I felt uncomfortable, I would clap.’

Bonnie says she also survived the constant presence of her parents, Don, who supported this instinct.

“I was well protected at the time, even though we weren’t aware of it. My family probably received a lot of criticism at the time because they were there.’

Instead of showing off and expecting fame and fortune, they were taught to play in the right places. “I wouldn’t be useless on The X Factor,” he says surprisingly.

“I didn’t get it. I’m worried about the pressure being put on these young people and the great lifestyle being sold to them.

Simon Callow, Kerry Ellis, Denis Lawson and Bonnie Langford are all right

“This doesn’t necessarily mean winning. And it won’t last. This is the hard part when the car is no longer behind you. You are alone.’

She was a good friend of Lena Zavaroni, who is often quoted as an example of how a child star can crush you and died at age 35 after battling anorexia and depression. But Bonnie has a different opinion.

“They interpret him as a victim, but he wasn’t this sad little creature at all. He was very nice and strong and determined,” she says.

“I don’t like being remembered for his sickness and his immeasurable talent.”

Growing up in public was tough for Bonnie. “I used to say indispensable things for the press.

“I was so honest, it was so ridiculous. “Oh no, I don’t have a boyfriend, I haven’t kissed.” Then it was on the front page. I have no idea why that was in the news.”

Maybe it’s because England seems obsessed with the idea of ​​little girls acting like adults: at the age of ten she was already singing I’m Just A Girl Who Can’t Say No on prime time television.

‘Terrible, isn’t it? I had no idea. Innocent, sweet, naive, stupid. Not really – I was smart too – but I gave too much away.

Her 20s were a struggle, and not just because she played partner Melanie Bush in the final days of Doctor Who’s first incarnation, when sets were wobbly and scripts were crappy.

“Everything was a bit of a Crossroads,” says Bonnie Mel, even as she continues to act in voice adventures. “I was able to tell him a story,” she says.

His problems went deeper. “I had to let go of who I was.

‘I felt stuck. This performing creature, I always had to be reliable, reliable, professional.

“I wanted to be, but physically I had to endure too much,” she says. “I worked hard on my body and never gave myself time to break down and rest.”

His love life was also filled with doubt. “Is anyone with you because you want it or because Bonnie Langford is in the papers?

“When will you give your true self?” Does it still feel the same?

‘Ditto. It’s hard to trust… I feel comfortable when I’m alone, but you also feel lonely. “Are you okay?” no one asks.

She married fellow actor Paul Grunert in 1995, after meeting her while they were both starring in a musical; She divorced Bonnie in 2015, citing her “irrational behavior”. “I have been married for twenty years.

‘I did everything I could. I also had a daughter who was very beautiful,” she says.

Bonnie and her adult girlfriend, Biana, live together in London. “I did my best and I’m proud of it.”

Covid has slowed things down, but now Bonnie is back with Anything Goes and awaits a summer residence at the Barbican in London. ‘A real musical comedy, they don’t do much these days.

“Most modern shows are sung or intense, and this one does what it was supposed to do in 1934: bring people back to the theater and cheer them up after the Great Depression. It was current then, and it still is today.’

She’s shown her deeper side today, but as Bonnie celebrates her 50th anniversary in her happy place – on stage – she’s determined to share the joy.

‘Anything Goes is carefree fun. It is important to help people move away from fate and darkness. Let’s go to the theater and escape for a few hours! ‘

• Everything Goes is now on tour. Visit anygoesmusical.co.uk for dates and tickets.