Ex-Coronation Street barmaid Sophiya Haque brings her colourful new musical – Britain’s Got Bhangra – to Oxford.

Her last film starred Angelina Jolie, her most recent soap was Coronation Street and her previous TV presenting job was on MTV.

Sophiya Haque has been there and got the T-shirt.

But now she’s back in a new guise ready to shake her thang.

Britain’s Got Bhangra is a glorious celebration of everything Bollywood and should get the Oxford Playhouse pulsating right down to its booty.

And yet Sophiya, 39, says she has no idea how she ended up with such an impressive CV and just flies by the seat of her pants.

“I’m generally a happy person but I have been very lucky with things that have come my way, so there is lots to be happy about,” she beams.

“But then we are in the people-pleasing business and there’s nothing like a bit of theatre for instant gratification,” she points out.

Sophiya was born in the UK to Bangladeshi and English parents and remembers a musical household with lots of singing and piano playing.

She trained as a dancer and joined a pop group whose records were bigger in Asia than anywhere else.

“So when they asked me to be an MTV presenter over there I moved to Hong Kong for nine years,” Sophiya says. “It was virgin territory at the time and I broadcast to 52 countries, but I think what they liked about me were my mad English eccentricities.”

When MTV become more computerised Sophiya moved to Bombay, where she turned into a bona fide movie star, joining the Bollywood bratpack.

“It was crazy back then,” Sophiya remembers. “We were demigods for a while and had a really good time.”

It was the musical Bombay Dreams which enticed Sophiya back to England, and having auditioned, she got the part and has been back home ever since.

“Well, it was a West End show and I got to dance and sing again,” she says. “And you just can’t beat getting your hands dirty in the theatre, it’s so great. It’s a soldier mentality, no fuss – you just have to get on with it.”

The Angelina Jolie film Wanted followed, which then led to Sophiya’s audition as a Coronation Street bar maid, landing her a role in the Rovers Return.

“It was such an honour to work in such an iconic place and I got to meet the whole cast even if I sometimes only got to say a few words per episode.

“So it was a shame when it ended eight months later but I’d love to go back. I’m doing the 50th anniversary barmaid’s photo shoot soon with Julie Goodyear,” she grins.

So is Britain’s Got Bhangra similar to anything she’s attempted before?

“It’s not comparable to anything,” Sophiya beams. “It’s brand new in every way. It’s the first Bhangra musical, but if you don’t know what Bhangra is, it’s a leave your troubles at home kind-of-show.

“And the audience feels like they own it because there are historical references and music all the way through.

“It really makes you realise how much British and Asian cultures cross over, so we hope it will go on to the West End.”

* Britain’s Got Bhangra opens on Tuesday at the Oxford Playhouse. Call the box office on 01865 305305.