Susie's enjoying life on TV sitcom in Northampton.

The revival of the popular 1970s sitcom has been so well received that there is even talk of a new television version.

And Northampton audiences will be able to find out what the fuss is all about when the show visits the Royal & Derngate from Tuesday to Saturday, May 1 to 5.

But for those who didn’t grow up with the show, Susie thinks this stage version is the perfect way to introduce it.

She said: “It has been described as a love story at its heart and it is packed with a very childish sense of humour.

“It is packed full of belly laughs, my brother-in-law came to see it and he said he hadn’t laughed at something like this since he was 10.”

The show was well known for its physical stunts outdoors and while the latter couldn’t be done, there are several things for people who are fans of slapstick.

Susie said: “The set is quite extraordinary, it is on two levels and there are all sorts of clever things that happen to assist with the slapstick that is going on.

“We did a table read of the script which we all thought was very funny and it was after that moment when I thought, I just want to be a part of this.”

She also says the show is set in the 1970s and what was perfect entertainment back then can equally act as escapism again.

Susie added: “I don’t think it would work in a contemporary setting.

“The show is set in the 1970s at a time when people needed to escape from their troubles and I think people are in need of a similar escape at the current moment.”

We chatted to Susie before the news broke about a potential revived television version, but it could be a project that would appeal to her.

Susie said: “I worked with Sarah Earnshaw when I did Wicked, but I’ve never worked with the other cast members.

“But we have all got on so well, we’d love to carry on with the same people and do another show, like a little repertory theatre that you used to get in the old days.”

However, like many of her contemporaries, Susie is best known for her television work and still gets recognised for her work with Victoria Wood in the 1980s.

“Working with Victoria Wood was a wonderful experience,” she said. “I was doing some pub theatre and Victoria came to see the show and she just had this instinct about what I could do.

“It was also only on for two series so it cleverly left the audience wanting more. But it was a tremendous success and it is something which still gets brought up even now after all these years.”

More recently she worked on Coronation Street and the sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys. It was by chance that she was cast in the latter.

Susie said: “I saw the stage show of Mrs Brown’s Boys live one night, and I went along with Keith Duffy to see the show.

“I couldn’t stay behind afterwards to say how great it was as I had to be up at the crack of dawn, so I sent a note and some flowers, and Brendan O’Carroll remembered me.

“When he had to recast the part of the mother-in- law because the original actress wasn’t free, he remembered that note.

“They are all a family but they are incredibly welcoming and warm and make you feel part of it.

“Although I did have a feeling that I was given some of the things to do in the script because I was English. I asked Brendan about that and he said yes, it was. But it’s done with such lightness and it’s very funny.”

To book tickets for the show call 01604 624811 or visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk