ACTRESS, dancer and singer Ruthie Henshall is a very busy woman.

Currently appearing in a West End production of Noel Coward’s Blythe Spirit, she is also preparing to wow the country on tour with her new show, Sounds Of Hollywood.

But then considering many actresses claim that work gets harder to find as you get older — Ruthie is an enviably youthful-looking 43 years old — it seems she has very little to complain about.

“It’s completely the opposite — I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of work coming my way and the parts get richer; you have more confidence and more weight behind you as you get older,” she says.

On November 14, Ruthie will bring the Sounds Of Hollywood to Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall.

The show includes West End favourites such as There’s No Business Like Show Business, Wouldn’t It Be Loverly, People, Don’t Rain On My Parade, Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better, The Man That Got Away and Somewhere Over The Rainbow from Oscar-winning movies such as My Fair Lady, Funny Girl and A Star Is Born.

Ruthie says: “It’s an era I’ve always loved. My mother was a film and drama teacher, she always played these songs and I fell in love with them.

"They’re what made me choose to go into music rather than doing ballet, which was my first love.”

She describes the show as 'like a compilation album' with additional dancing, and says they represent the greatest works of the artists that performed them.

When Ruthie was 10, her headmistress spotted her singing talent during a school play.

She suggested to Ruthie’s father that he send her to stage school, but he refused, saying that if she still wanted to go when she was 16 he would completely support her.

“I was gutted at the time, but I’m so glad now that it happened the way it did,” she says.

“I had a very grounded childhood and it made me more determined.”

For anyone who hopes to emulate her success, Ruthie has some very simple advice.

“If it is your passion then you have to follow it,” she says.

“I do my passion for a living and I’m very lucky, but you have to realise that you’re not going to get rich and famous quickly, or probably at all.”

* Ruthie Henshall Sounds Of Hollywood is at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, on November 14. Tickets cost £21.50-£37.50. For more information, or to book, visit raymondgubbay.co.uk or ring 0161 907 9000.