Actress Claire Sweeney talks to Katherine MacAlister about the joys of motherhood as well as staging her show Sex in Suburbia

That Claire Sweeney is in a good place right now is obvious.

In fact, she can scarcely conceal her contentment, almost purring as she feeds her four-month-old son Jaxon while we catch up and she tells me about her new show Sex In Suburbia.

Last time we spoke the 42 year old was at the end of a long tour, and was slightly, shall we say, abrupt.

But now she couldn’t be more cheerful and enthusiastic, happy to chat about the strange path her life has taken, and how she is finally fulfilling her dreams.

That she was a master of all trades was already well established, having tackled the stage, TV, soaps, chat shows, films and musicals, all successfully. It seemed there was nothing Claire couldn’t try her hand at, and yet she has now added; having a baby, presenting a radio show and embarking on a mammoth nationwide tour with her own comedy Sex In Suburbia, which she wrote herself, to her bow.

So will that curtail her life of domestic bliss? “Oh no, Jaxon (her son with ex-fiance Daniel Riley) comes everywhere with me. He loves it backstage and is very good, and I have lots of help,” she says.

“He’s always my plus one and it’s not like I’ve got an office job. I’ll often just be on stage for a few hours every night or on the radio on Sundays.”

So how long has she been on maternity leave? “I’ve done a panto already so I’ve already gone back to work. I’m a working mum, that’s what I do, it’s a necessity not an ego thing, you’ve still got to pay the bills haven’t you?” she points out.

“I would never do anything that compromised my relationship with Jaxon but at the moment it’s easier because we don’t have to worry about schools or nursery yet,” she beams.

Sex In Suburbia however was a twinkle in Claire’s eye long before Jaxon came along. She wrote it two years ago after her friends begged her to write down her numerous hilarious dating anecdotes, and she crafted them into a show with the help of best friend, comedian and fellow co-star Mandy Muden. They put it on for a week in Claire’s hometown of Liverpool and it “went down a storm” getting rave reviews. But then, just as they were to embark on a grand tour, Claire found out she was pregnant, so postponed its opening until now.

Now ready and raring to go, Claire can’t wait to take it round the country with a new cast. “It’s something all women, and men for that matter, have in common, their bad dating stories, which are always hilarious. So Sex In Suburbia is about a radio show where each person’s phone-in story is re-enacted on stage. It’s all based on true stories gathered from friends and acquaintances, with lots of songs and music, and people seem to love it,” she adds.

So when did Claire know it was a go-er? “Not until the opening night. Until then we didn’t even know if we were funny. Actually even after the first night we wondered if it was a fluke,” she smiles.

With the tour to worry about, her new Magic FM radio show on Sundays, and Jaxon to coo over, Claire is much less worried about what happens next: “I used to get really stressed out about the future and what I would be doing in two years’ time and get really het up about it, so now I’m taking each stage as it comes and just enjoying the moment. We will just have to see what happens.

“But for me this is perfect timing. I’ve done everything I wanted and achieved what I set out to do. I don’t want for anything else. My baby will always be more important. I just want to be the best mum I can be. That’s my ambition now and I’m very happy.”

SEE IT
Claire Sweeney appears in Sex In Suburbia on Wednesday at Oxford’s New Theatre.
Call 0844 871 3020 or see atgtickets.com/oxford