ANITA Harris, on the face of it, has had a lovely life.

The singer had a fabulous pop career in the sixties, going on to reinvent herself as a variety television performer.

Along the way she’s morphed into a straight actor, with starring roles in the West End. And at 74 she can now be safely described as a national institution.

Now, Anita is coming to Glasgow with Rehearsal For Murder, written by crime authors Richard Levinson and William Link, creators of Murder She Wrote and Columbo.

However, the lady is an t example of how the seemingly perfect life in showbiz is rarely so.

She’s had to contend with bankruptcy, (her money was in a Swiss bank which collapsed) the loss of two homes and the fact she’s never been able to have children.

Yet, you wouldn’t be able to tell any of that however from the opening conversation.

Anita sounds as upbeat and excited about performance as she did when co-hosting the David Nixon Magic Show back in the late sixties.

“I’m having a lovely time my darling,” she says of touring the country with the murder mystery.

“And we have a fantastic cast in this show, including Alex Fearns (the Scot who starred in Eastenders) who I worked with on Strangers On A Train, and I admire him so much. He puts body and soul into it.

“And there are so very tender moments with him and the lovely Susie Amy.”

Anita Harris may look as delicate as fine porcelain but the lady is clearly made of tougher material.

Growing up in Bournemouth, Anita was a promising ice skater who was spotted by a talent scout and led in the direction of a dance troupe.

She headed off to Vegas for six months, where she met the likes of Sinatra and Mae West.

But homesickness and missing her parents saw her return to the UK where she joined a vocal group.

It was in the early sixties, after she teamed up with songwriter Mike Margolis, who became her record producer - and husband.

Anita found major chart success in 1967 with Just Loving You, and followed it up a year later with Anniversary Waltz.

However, Anita had never relied on singing, already having moved into acting, and she became a Carry On star, appearing in Carry On Doctor and Follow That Camel.

And of course she is one of Britain’s biggest panto stars.

Was it all part of a plan to reinvent herself?

“I had a year at the Hampstead School of Acting, and I had great support and encouragement along the way,” she recalls.

“But I never had a plan, darling.

“Music and acting do tend to blend if you are lucky enough yet I never set out to work proved to be the mother of invention.

Anita moved with the times, into children’s television, as a co-host on the David Nixon Show, while continuing to make singing appearances.

In short, she became a national treasure.

However, by the mid-eighties her own treasure chest was empty. Anita and her husband were bankrupted by the tax man.

Undaunted, the lady continued to work, becoming a cabaret star, landing a key role in stage musical Cats.

“Yes, it’s been a roller coaster,” she says, with a sigh.

“But a lot of our problems were from ill-health and when that happens you sometimes let things go. But I’m a great believer in angels and God, and that has given me great strength.”

Religion has clearly been a great support. But does she have regrets along the way?

“No, I’ve had wonderful parents. And I still have my brothers, although I’d love to see them more than I do.

“One brother is in America and family is very much within me.”

She adds; “I planned to see him now but this play came along.”

Anita would have loved to have children.

“Oh, yes, yes,” she says in emphatic voice. “But sadly I lost three.”

She pauses for a moment; “God certainly sends us challenges.”

Anita Harris may have had her difficult moments in life – she was once told she needed a double mastectomy – only to learn sometime later the cancer diagnosis was false however the lady chooses to highlight the positives in her life.

She feels she has been blessed to be able to work and learn from the likes of Harry Secombe, Benny Hill and Kenneth Williams.

Anita worked with Williams in 1967 films Carry On Doctor and Follow That Camel.

How did she feel playing the sexy Nurse, in Carry On Nurse, and hang off rooftops revealing her suspenders?

“Well, those knickers had to be auditioned,” she says, laughing.

“But it was a wonderful time working with the likes of Hattie Jacques, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, you are joining a group of sensational actors.

“Williams for example, made me realise I had to come up with the goods. He was such a perfectionist. And there was a wonderful moment when I did a scene he came up to me and said ‘Well done, kid.’ And I almost wept with joy.

“I was aware I was a supporting actor, and we all had to be there for each other. When that happens, the production roars ahead like a train.”

Would she play the same part now if she were the same age?

“I would love to,” she says. “And I love this old-fashioned comedy, and good luck to the young ones making the remake.”

The stars have made a big impression on her.

“These people sit on your shoulders for ever. I was 21 and I did my first panto in Birmingham with Jimmy Clitheroe.

“He called me over and said ‘Right oh, right oh.’ I said ‘What do you mean ‘Right oh?’ And he said ‘You’re standing on my right toe.’ He was already training me how to be a stooge.”

It teaches you not to take yourself so seriously.

“Yes, and you realise how strong and powerful performers could be, such as Harry Secombe. I did Forces tours with him and watched how he was worshipped. He was inspirational.

“And those such as Harry may be in heaven right now but they are in my heart.”

She worked with Benny Hill several times.

“He was a very innovative man, a creative genius. And when you work with people who are great at what you do it rubs off.”

Now she’s in a murder mystery, set within a West End playhouse in 1989, playwright Alex Dennison is left heartbroken when his fiancée and leading lady Monica Welles is found dead from an apparent suicide after the opening night of her stage debut.

On the anniversary of that ill-fated night, Alex assembles the same cast and crew in the same theatre, for a reading of his new play.

But as the reading progresses, it soon becomes clear that Alex believes Monica was murdered and his new play is a devious cat-and-mouse chase to uncover her killer.

Where does she find the energy for touring?

“The first few weeks are a bit tiring. But you get into a routine. And you soon get the adrenalin going.

“And the day after the first matinee you feel settled and think ‘Now I can go and find the nice shops.’”

• Rehearsal For Murder, The Theatre Royal,

She has worked with everyone. Franke Howerd, I was doing sketches with him in a London show when the Carry On producers came to see him, and they ended up asking me to appear. It was amazing.”

.

Still working in panto, “I love it. You get to Christmas, I loved playing Peter Pan,

“

About six weeks I was doing my one woman show and singing Memories, and the fire alarms went off.

“I carried on singing in the street,” she says, grinning. “We have to keep on going.”

“

She has slid into the career.

Did she feel her career would last so long, that she could reinvent herself?

“It’s a lovely thing, a bit like the Carry On movies, which have lasted through the generations.

“I still do my one woman show, and last week I did a variety show matinee and the place was packed. And then in the evening I worked on the play.

“