LINDA Nolan wears a happy smile to match her jeans and bright jumper as she relaxes into a chair in the dressing room of her new musical theatre show, Menopause The Musical.

However, on meeting the singer, there’s a realisation the former girl band star could well be struggling to get off the floor.

In recent years, the 57 year-old had had to battle severe depression to the point of being suicidal, cope with breast cancer and deal with the deaths of her husband, Brian, her sister, Bernie and her mum.

To compound her troubles, the Dublin-born singer had to endure an 18 month benefits fraud investigation.

“But I’m still here,” she says looking around her dressing room and acknowledging she’s not only performing in a hit comedy musical but indeed is thankful to be alive.

“We’ve done two tours of Menopause in Ireland and now it’s time for the UK tour.

“And it’s a great show to do, with 23 comedy parodies of the likes of I Will Survive and Hot Flush.

“Women just love it, not because it’s making fun of the menopause but because women like to make light of their problems.”

Linda is return to the showbiz stage for the first time in nine years and she admits appearing in the show to be a form of therapy.

“I had gone into a downward spiral after the deaths, and the depression became really bad,” she recalls.

“But my sisters encouraged me to do this show. ‘Look, you’ll be back in Ireland, you’ll be well looked after and working with great people,’ and they were right.

“I did Blood Brothers (The Willy Russel hit) for eight years, and only left when Brian was taken ill. I do love the sense of security you get from working with other people in a show.

“This is a great way to earn a living, especially when you know what the audience reaction will be.”

Linda acknowledges the road to recovery from depression was long and arduous.

“I lost my husband (in 2007) who was also my tour manager and who I was with twenty-four seven. I depended on Brian. I couldn’t even drive.

“Brian took complete care of me. Then a few months after he was gone my mother died.

“On top of this, I had breast cancer to deal with and my whole world imploded. I became suicidal.”

Linda was in such a bad place she called the Samaritans.

“My counsellor then phoned my local doctor who called the mental health team, the ‘crash’ team as they’re known.

“A psychiatrist came to see me and said ‘No one can stop you taking your life. Linda. But we think we can help you. Just give us a chance.’ And I did.”

She adds, in deep appreciative voice. “They saved me,”

The trauma was all such a far cry away from the halcyon days of the Nolan Sisters, as they were once known.

In the seventies, the girls whose act had been formed by their club singer dad, appeared in most TV variety shows in the UK, went on to enjoy a string of chart hits, including I’m In The Mood For Dancing.

In 1975 the Nolans were invited to tour with Sinatra.

“We were selected from several British acts. But what was especially amazing was our dad was a crooner, Ireland’s answer to Sinatra.

“And when the tour was announced my dad had just bought two £100 tickets to see him, which he couldn’t afford.

“Then we told Dad we’d been asked to work with Mr Sinatra. Well, you can imagine.”

Linda adds; “We brought my dad in to see him when we appeared in London and when my dad met Sinatra he was speechless.

“And Frank was great with us. He made sure we were so well looked after, called us his ‘daughters’. And we got to see every single show. “When he played the Royal Albert Hall in London three of his wives turned up Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow and Barbara Marx.

“And Michael Caine turned up with Elizabeth Taylor to one show in Belgium.”

Linda Nolan seems to have beaten the dark forces in her life, come to terms with the loss of those closest to her.

And in recalling the events of the past ten years she’s certainly not looking for sympathy at all, simply explaining her hiatus from showbiz.

Linda explains how caring for children has helped her on the road to a positive future, fostering kids who need respite care.

“It was my counsellor who put me onto that. She said to me at one time ‘Linda, the only time I see a light in your eyes is when you talk about your nieces and nephews. Why don’t you try fostering?’”

The counselling, the children, the support of family and friends have all helped Linda Nolan to find her way. And she laughs easily now. Even when talking about going through the menopause herself while on tour.

“I was working with Mary Byrne (the Irish X Factor finalist) on the show during the Irish tour and we both talked about the effects of it, the hot sweats and so on.

“But we laughed about this shared experience, the fact we’ve got the fans on all the time in the dressing room while everyone else is cold.”

“The singer adds, grinning; “You have to laugh, don’t you?”

In recent times, she’s also sorted out her debt situation. The benefits charges were dropped. But what advice would she give to her younger self?

“Read your contracts,” she says, with a wry smile. “We sold over 20m records and never really saw the benefit of that. We outsold the Beatles in Japan, for example, selling eight million.”

What’s evident is Linda Nolan is delighted to be working again, to be performing alongside top performers in the form of Eastenders’ Cheryl Fergison and Casualty’s Rebecca Wheatley.

“I’m back now,” she says, beaming with pride. “And while this show isn’t Chekhov, it’s a really great chance for women to have a really good time.”

And men? “We do get the odd man coming to the show, dragged along by his wife,” she says, grinning then breaks into a loud, throaty laugh.

“But I think that’s a good thing. At least he’ll come to understand why she’s trying to kill him every other day.”

• Menopause The Musical, The King’s Theatre, Sunday, May 1