Hot Property

Sam Kane thought he understood women when he took on the only male role in Hot Flush.

But even he has been surprised by the audience’s reaction.

“I thought I was unshockable,” he says, “having worked in working men’s clubs up and down the country. But there was this 60 year-old woman in the audience last week acting out a certain sexual act and I didn’t know where to look or what to do with myself.

“But that’s what I love about women, everything is out in the open and having witnessed endless hen nights in action I realised a long time ago that women are 10 times worse than men. But I’m lucky, because I’m very close to my mother and nothing was taboo in our house, which has helped,” the 41-year-old says.

Hot Flush is a story about four women ‘of a certain age‘ who get together once a week to talk about what’s going on in their lives.

He plays all of the 17 men mentioned and has more costume changes than Liz Hurley.

“It’s hard to explain Hot Flush actually,” he says. “It’s a bit like childbirth, you don’t know what it’s like until you’ve seen it, so you get thrown in the deep end.”

And he’s having a great time surrounded by women every night.

“Well, about 99 per cent of the audience are women, but when fellas come in they absolutely love it because it’s all about women laughing at themselves,” Sam says.

So is it a dream job then? “It’s always a glamorous job to start with and then after a week it’s a job, because at the moment I’m sitting in a hotel room in Cornwall rather than where I’d rather be, which is with my family.”

But then if you were married to former Page 3 model Linda Lusardi, who’s at home in Hertfordshire with their two children, Lucy and Jack, waiting for him to return, you’d say that too.

And while Sam dreams of being at home, Linda no doubt dreams of getting away to a hotel for the night, like Sam.

“The grass is always greener. I want to be where she is and she wants to be where I am, but we have always done this, it’s the nature of the business.”

This Christmas they found a great solution by appearing in panto together, which is how they first met all those years ago.

“Even Jack starred in it. He has a great stage presence and is really talented so it was great to spend time with them,” Sam remembers.

So are there pros and cons to being in a celebrity couple?

“Well, despite the TV thing (Sam has starred in Brookside, Coronation Street and Emmerdale) when we’re out together it’s Linda who gets noticed most, unless we are in a crowd, because I’m 6ft 4 and she’s only 5ft,” he laughs.

“But I have never risen to the whole celebrity thing because I don’t like all that stuff.

“I remember when I was working in the clubs no one would give you the time of day until after the show when they all want a piece of you, and I’ve never understood that. It’s not me and never has been. It’s a great job but I’ve got a life thank you.”

What does irritate Sam though is that everyone thinks they can be a performer thanks to the steady stream of reality TV shows.

“Every Jo Bloggs thinks they can do this job, and actually it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, because it’s not just about being able to sing a song, you have to engage with an audience, so it’s also about being able to hold your own and put the song across.

“But then, I’ve always been lucky that I can sing and act, and having started performing when I was at college I haven’t stopped since, so I must be doing something right,” he says, “and I’ve never put all my eggs in one basket,” he explains.

So what else does a performer like him need to succeed?

“Great entertainment must be a given, and you have to be a company man as well because you are stuck in theatres with the same people every night so you need to get on with them.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love this job but it’s still a job, and the really important things in life are one’s health and family, everything else is just a bonus.”

Sam Kane will be appearing in Hot Flush at the New Theatre for one night only on Wednesday. Box office on 0844 8471585.