LEAH MacRae can stand on tippy toes these days, which doesn’t sound so remarkable until you consider that six months ago she couldn’t stand.

Leah, who lives in Clarkston, turned around sharply on stage one night only to feels as if someone had shot her in the ankle. 

The River City star’s Achilles had ruptured. And the loss of tendon connection meant the loss of the life she had known. 

 “I just turned and it went. Snap,“ Leah recalls. “But the surgeon said I must have had a weakness there and it was ready to go.

“I still limp every morning but I have worked really hard in physio and now I think it’s as strong as the other ankle.”

She says in bright voice; “I can go up on my toes now. Three months ago I was terrified to do that.  I was like a wee toddler.”

Leah has to be fighting fit because she’s set to reprise her appearance in Fifty One Shades of Maggie, the Fifty Shades of Grey parody. 

Maggie is a council house girl on benefits. 

She copes with life with cheap drink and lots of cheaper sex. Then she meets Mr Big and goes off on a sexual adventure. But something happens to make her revaluate her life...

Leah is excited to be returning to the sell-out show that almost defies description, Leesa Harker’s script so full of colourful sexual imagery it commands the use of every crayon in the box. 

Legions of ladies will once again take to theatres across the land to wallow in Maggie’s mischief. 

“It’s great to play someone  so different from my River City character Ellie,” she says. “Ellie is a very moral person whereas Maggie is, well, less so. Maggie has done nearly everything illegal. But it’s about upbringing. Her experience has formed her.

“Yet, when you peel the layers back there are similarities between the two. There is a warmth. And Maggie, we find, is really looking for love.”
Leah loves her River City life, so much so she was prepared to crash the pain barrier. 

“I begged the producers not to write me out, even though the ankle pain was really bad. And when you are on a film set you can’t take strong painkillers, you can’t be drowsy at all. 

“The film set is huge, and it  runs like clockwork so  I had to get a wheelchair to get me around the set. But I’m so glad I kept on working.”
Her storyline sees Ellie continue her love affair with AJ, played by Sanjeev Kohli.

How does that progress, given soap relationships tend to last as long as  . . . a bar of soap?

“I can tell you from what we’ve filmed that we’re still together. At the moment, they are very happy.”

She adds, mischievously; “But they do have a couple of changes they have to negotiate.”

Does she discover her lover to be in the first stage of transgender realignment? Does he have a secret life, with a wife in Columbia, where he was once part of a drug cartel?

“Can’t say,” she says, laughing.  With continuing drama there is always change, unless you’re Ken Barlow. Does she fear the end one day?

“You always panic when you read the script and the line says ‘Taxi comes to pick up Ellie.’ Characters are often written out, waving from the back of a taxi. 

“Or if  the script says ‘She goes off to jail.’ You can pretty much assume you won’t be working for a while.

Leah adds, in more serious voice; “I love my job. I will never be complacent about it. 

“I’ve been out of work in the past. From the ages of 19-29 I was a jobbing actress, and during that time I did support work, I worked in bars. 

“So I’ve always had this fear of going back to those days. But at the same time I’m philosophical. I just take every day as a bonus.
 

“And you understand there is always going to be change if you do get written out you know it’s the character, it’s nothing personal.”

She breaks into a laugh; “I’ve told the River City producers  ‘I’m a big girl. If you want me out of the building you’re going to have to carry me’.”

There is little doubt Leah will continue to entertain. She plans to return with her one-woman cabaret show towards the end of the year. 

And she’s set to star in panto, once again as the Fairy God Mother, this time in Kilmarnock.

In between times, she’s set for more exercise, to get the weight down - and to  build up her ankle. 

And there’s a little knee problem to contend with. Leah has a touch of pain behind the knee cap. Is this not usually called Housemaid’s Knee?  

“Well, I didn’t get it from housemaid duties,” she says laughing, “and my husband will concur.”

Does Leah and her partner plan to start a family?

“There is a lot of pressure,” she says, smiling. “My parents are asking questions now. But childcare will be a problem because both our parents are still working. 

“And the type of mother I want to be requires time. I don’t really have that time at the moment.”

Career comes first. 

“I just love working. I love to entertain,” she says, smiling. 

  • Fifty One Shades of Maggie, runs during August at Falkirk Town Hall, 11, Lanark Memorial Hall, 16,  Greenock’s Beacon Theatre, 18, Glasgow King’s Theatre,  23-25, and Motherwell Concert Hall, 31. September shows include Ayr Gaiety, 4-7, Stirling’s Albert Halls, 14, and Kilmarnock Palace, 15.