DUNCAN James smiles at the little irony involving his latest production.

For years, the former Blue star tried his very best not to look camp, to cover up the fact he was gay.

Now, here he is in the campest stage show ever conceived since Baden Powell first made small boys wear woggles and sing Ging Gang Goolie.

Duncan is set to play Tick in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the musical tale of three drag queens who layer on the chiffon and eye shadow by the camper van load and take their rickety act across rural Australia.

“Yes, it is a bit ironic,” he says, smiling. “And yes, I’m playing a drag queen in a musical, but I’ve now come out as a gay man and I have to live the life that’s true to myself.

“I was brought up as a strict Catholic. My grandparents embedded this into me when I was a young boy. And I had a lot of Catholic guilt. I was told if I did certain things I’d go to Hell.

"But when you become an adult you make your own choices.”

Duncan, who sold fifteen million records with his Blue band mates, Anthony Costa, Simon Webbe and Lee Ryan, became fed up living the lie.

“I was worried for so many years when I was in Blue. I knew I liked men but the truth is I didn’t really know I was gay. “(He had a string of heterosexual relationships, including the mother of his eleven year-old daughter.)

“But because I liked men I worried to the point I made myself ill, and that wasn’t good.”

That's a huge understatement; at one point the star went to confession, to try and reconcile his feelings with the preaching of the church.

“Sometimes I would get social media messages telling me I’m sure to go to Hell for being gay and what I do is disgusting, but that’s others’ opinions.”

Duncan reckoned the local priest would give him 50 Hail Marys and 100 Our Fathers to recite (a heavy punishment exercise) but he didn’t.

“He was actually really cool with it. He gave me my act of contrition, and then gave me one thing to do – read the Gospel of Luke.”

The gospel spoke of Jesus and the blind leper, a parable about all men being equal in the eyes of god. Duncan left the confessional feeling happier.

“I do believe in God, and I have my own talks with God about my life, however I don’t go to church anymore. I want religion to be a private thing.

“But when I finally did come out in public I realised no one gave a f***.”

The singer adds, with a sigh; “What I do know is you have to try and find happiness in your life. Otherwise, what is the point? You can’t be miserable and live a lie. And I didn’t want to die with a great deal of sadness.”

Duncan James is a particularly thoughtful character, which becomes evident when he talks of a recent Priscilla performance in Aberdeen.

Coming back to the show after a three month break you’d expect him to speak simply of the delights of returning to performance: “It’s like riding a bike. You have a little wobble and then you’re off and running."

But he doesn’t stop there.

"The thing about the Aberdeen show was a suicide happened outside the theatre. And it was so tragic, to think that while we were on stage performing, trying to do a great show, there was someone outside trying to kill themselves.

“It puts the reality back in your mind. And I feel so sorry someone had to go through that, to deal with the fact their life was in that state.”

Duncan James is counting his blessings every day. He’s faced his own harsh realities including financial ruin when record sales fell through the floor and Blue imploded.

“It’s called life,” he shrugs. “I’m just so lucky I’ve had this range of experiences. Someone like Beyonce won’t have the lows I’ve had, but she’ll have different lows. We all have them.

“I’ve tasted the cherry from the tree and I’ve eaten the stone from the floor. I’ve been bankrupt. And it makes you all the more humble as a person.

“What I know however is that I didn’t get this role because I was once a member of a boyband, I got this on my own merit. That’s my reward, whether I’m at Wembley Arena or a 1,000-seat theatre. I’m blessed.”

He was always a performer, not simply a singer. In fact, as a teenager Duncan worked in a holiday camp, the equivalent of a Butlin’s Red Coat.

“I knew what I wanted to do right from my first school play, and thankfully my mum supported me in this."

His voice vibrates with pride: “Now, it’s my turn. I’ve got a beautiful 11 year-old daughter who wants to become a ballet dancer, now in the final auditions for the Royal Ballet School.”

During his difficult personal times, did he get back up from showbiz pals such as Elton and Geri Halliwell?

“No,” he says, rather refreshingly. “We’ve all got the industry friends but when I hit my low I wanted to be with my core friends, the people I’d grown up with.”

Pop success was huge with a string of top ten hits at the start of the millennium, such as All Rise and Too Close and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, with Elton.

But when the pop career ended, Duncan pocked himself up and began a career in musical theatre, in the likes of Legally Blonde and Chicago.

“I love to make people happy,” he says. “I love to be part of this old school travelling troupe thing where we turn up and put on a show.

“I love the fact I get to do this. I’m really so lucky.”

The Blue experience isn’t over yet.

“We speak regularly and there are things in the pipe line. We’re doing things on our own at the moment, but we’ll be back together.”

He takes a moment and enthuses: “I’m 38 this year, and here’s the thing; I’m still living the dream and playing the lead in the show in which there isn’t a single person who’s a bit of an a***."

And it's a show about honesty, about being accepted for what you are.

“That's right," he says, smiling. "And that's why I’m truly blessed.”

*Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the King’s Theatre, March 29 – April 2.