LIZA Goddard. The stuff of seventies schoolboy’s dreams, all St Trinian’s accent, twinkly-eyed and sexy wholesomeness.

She was also the stuff of classic sitcoms in the late sixties playing dizzy blondes such as Victoria in Take Three Girls; think Goldie Hawn meets My Little Pony.

And we all had the chance to devour her performances in the likes of and The Brothers (1972), her roles in episodes of Minder and Dr Who? and in 150 episodes of Give Us A Clue.

But now Glasgow can enjoy the chance to see Liza in the flesh.

The West Midlands-born former grammar schoolgirl stars alongside former Coronation Street psychopath Brian Capron in The Smallest Show on Earth.

This new musical comedy is based on the 1957 Peter Sellers-Margaret Rutherford film and tells of a young couple who inherit a debt-ridden old movie theatre - and three eccentric senior citizens who work there.

“It’s a new show so we’ve been working on it until the last minute, new scenes, old scenes dropped,” says Liza, all rapid voice and clipped vowels.

“I’ve been in the wings and still learning the new lines just before going on stage. But it’s all to make it better. And it’s working.”

She adds, laughing; “I guess I must love the endorphin rushes or I wouldn’t do the job. But then that’s probably down to the lack of finding something more sensible to do.”

Liza Goddard has loved acting since she was in ankle socks. She even loved acting during her 150 episode stint in Skippy The Bush Kangaroo when the then pig-tailed blonde played second fiddle to a mob of marsupials.

The job came about after the family moved to Australia ( her father became Head of Drama with a TV station in Sydney) but Liza determined to build her career back to London.

She joined rep theatre, and then television called. And before we knew it, the nation loved Liza Goddard in Take Three Girls, which revealed the changing role of modern, free-thinking women in the swinging sixties.

Was the show as much fun to appear in as it looked on TV? “Yes, we laughed all the time, and it was the same with Yes, Honestly. (1976)”

How did she feel about being the schoolboys pin-up?

“I had no idea,” says the 65 year-old, not sounding at all disingenuous.

“You don’t get to hear about it. Remember, we didn’t have all the scandal mags in those days. And in that era we didn’t live a celebrity life or anything, we weren’t that famous or paid that much, so we led completely normal lives.”

Yet, the upbeat, positive image Liza portrayed on TV at times belied the reality.

Her mother, she admits, possessed a Mommie Dearest cruelty, and perhaps it was the actress’s need to be love which manifested itself in some bad personal choices.

She found herself in an abusive relationship, had a baby with the man and went on to marry future Dr Who? Colin Baker.

Sadly, the marriage lasted less time than it takes to regenerate a Doctor and a few years later she married seventies pop star Alvin Stardust.

That marriage also dissolved. “I suppose the final nail in our coffin was when he discovered God – on a train to Waterloo,” she wrote in her autobiography, Working With Children and Animals.

“I don’t regret the relationships, but marrying seems such a stupid thing to do because then you have to extricate yourself from the situation.

“What I would say to younger women now is if you rush into something, for God’s sake wait until you’re absolutely sure.”

She has no regrets about choosing acting as a career?

“Well, I either wanted to become an actor or a showjumper,” she says of careers which both involved great leaps of faith.

“That’s true,” she says, grinning. “When I started out acting I was told I should learn shorthand and typing, just in case. But I think I’ve made the right choice.

“I’ve had great career, working with Alan Ayckbourn and Ray Cooney, who taught me everything you need to know about farce.”

Indeed, such is her talent, the playwriting legends wrote parts for her.

“I love the theatre,” she enthuses. “I always went off to Bristol Old Vic between telly jobs.

“And I worked in Perth in the early seventies. It was such a great experience working with the director Joan Knight. I learned so much.”

Did she ever pursue American success?

“Yes, after Pig In The Middle (the 1980 love triangle sitcom) I went over, because the Americans were planning to make their own version.

“It didn’t happen but a casting director told me to stay on and he would get me a job, but I didn’t believe him.

“If I had, perhaps life would have been completely different.”

But her life has turned out just fine, having beaten breast cancer along the way and married happily to TV film maker David Cobham for the past twenty years.

And Liza is wallowing in her stint with The Smallest Show.

“My granddaughter came to see it, and she’s fifteen and loved it. And she hadn’t seen the movie or heard of the wonderful Irving Berlin songs that blend so perfectly into the script.

“It’s a fun show for all generations.”

But how does she cope with plays which don’t go so well?

“I’ve been in a couple of stinkers,” she admits, grinning;

“When you’re in a great play you can get away with a performance that’s not great. You’re carried along.

“But when you’re in a stinker all you can do is wear a dark wig and hide at the back of the stage.”

No dark wigs in Glasgow then?

“None,” she says, laughing.

• The Smallest Show On Earth, the Theatre Royal, October 26 - 31.