As debut theatre roles go, you might think she's got it easy – a former prison officer playing a prison officer.
C'mon, how hard can that be?
Except that Sam Bailey, the lass who bagged the X-Factor title of course, is playing Mama Morton in Chicago, one of the most delicious and successful stage musicals out there.
So yep, it's quite a task as it happens, writes Sammy Jones.
“This show is somebody's baby, and you've got to look after it like it's someone else's baby,” she starts.
And with the role came a certain amount of intrigue from the critics and fans of the show.
Not to mention the occasional sneer from the elitists of the musical theatre fraternity.
But she has silenced them already, and garnered plenty of tasty live reviews for her performance.
“Every night there seems to be some pretty important people in, so it's nerve-wracking, a lot of people from the industry checking out what Sam Bailey is doing, because no-one has ever seen me do something like this.
"I imagine it'd be quite intriguing. Especially when someone is out of their comfort zone," she thinks, "I'm not so much now, but I was when I first started.”
And besides, she does a fab Yank accent.
“I think a lot of people are genuinely shocked by my accent, because an American accent is seemingly hard to do.
“But little do they know that when I was about 12 or 13 all I wanted to do was be American. I used to talk American to my Mum and Dad, I wanted to live in America and I watched American films all the time.
"For Christmas the only thing I wanted was an American flag in my bedroom!”
So the accent was in the bag before that first rehearsal, but everything else has been a steep learning curve.
“The first day of rehearsals, I turned up and thought it would be a blending in day when you get to know each other.
“I had been there 15 minutes and they were like, 'Right, Scene One, let's go!'
“I've never done any acting, so to be in a room of people that have all done it before, and all the lingo, the different things they are saying – words like 'eggy,' I didn't know any of it.”
What does that mean?
“When something is a bit eggy – it's a bit awkward or doesn't feel right, feels a bit cheesy or wrong.
“People had to explain upstage, downstage, stage left, stage right, these are things I had never experienced before...but I am learning from everybody else every single day.
"I sit in the wings and I watch. Everything in this show is scripted to music and it is very calculated and cleverly done, which I find fascinating.
“Musical theatre has been a massive love of mine, but to be in it is an eye-opener, and not as easy as it looks on stage when you watch a show in the West End.
“For me, I can walk out on stage and sing a song and own it, powerhouse vocals, but with this it's about people believing who you are on that stage straight away – not seeing you as Sam Bailey, but seeing you as Mama Morton.
“If I've done that, I've done my job properly.”
And Mama Morton is a fantastic, strong character.
“She looks after County Prison, and a lot of the women in there, all of them do favours for Mama, and she does favours for them, for money – sorting out lawyers and things like that.”
“Her character is calculated, strong and she's the keeper of the keys...”
Let's talk about the similarities between your own time walking the halls, and this part.
She laughs: “Yes, I did work in a prison, but I didn't have money for favours, that's one thing that's not the same as the character!”
X Factor 'fame shows' don't do it for us. We're not a fan of that whole process.
But Sam is making it work for her, and is refreshingly honest about what she wanted from the fame game.
“I am making it work for me,” she starts, “I never wanted world domination or to be the next Beyonce, or anything like that. I never wanted to be a big pop star.
“To be perfectly honest, I wanted an extension on my house, and all I saw me doing was earning a bit more money because people had seen me off the telly.”
How about that for a refreshing honesty?
“I've got my extension now, so I am eternally grateful to the X Factor machine for doing that for me.
"All I've ever wanted is to have longevity. I'm still a normal person at heart, and I don't really like the word celebrity, although I embrace anybody that comes up to me and gets excited, and I think its great, but people are pleased that I've stayed the same person.
“At the end of the day, my s**t don't smell no different to anyone else's – I went in for a competition and I got what I wanted out of it.
“I'm still working, and that's what I want to do.”
And while Chicago – also starring Eastenders' John Partridge as Billy Flynn, Corrie and Emmerdale star Hayley Tamaddon as Roxie Hart and Sophie Carmen-Jones as Velma Kelly – is wowing on this tour, Sam has other musical irons in fires too.
When this tour and its associated greed, corruption, exploitation adultery and treachery is through, the in-demand mother of three has a new album being readied to sate fans appetites.
“'I've not got a record label funding everything, I'm doing everything myself, so at the end of the day everything I do is being chucked back into it so that I can give another album to my fans, who are desperate for it.”
And it sounds like they'll get their fill, seeing as our singing talent has been working with some aces all over the place: She has been songwriting with Ben Adams (who when not enthralling in Panto at MK Theatre is an ace producer), and recently flew Stateside to connect with celebrated producer Steve Dorff.
Oh, and her ability as a working parent is being noted too; when we interview her she is in second position in Closer's Celeb Mum of the Year competition.
But for the moment it's all about the so-called 'grown-up musical' and its celebration of notoriety, cynicism and greed, all wrapped up in lots of sassy black lingerie.
“It's an amazing storyline, cleverly scripted, funny as well,” Sam promises.
“You just need to come and see it because of the costumes, the dancing, and Hayley is just incredible as Roxy... and obviously I'm in it as well!
“Chicago is not a show that tours all the time, so you may not see it for a very long time, so see it while its hot and we'll razzle dazzle ya!”
Chicago begins a six-day stay at MK Theatre from Monday (March 14).
Evening performances are at 7.30pm, with afternoon matinees at 2.30pm on Wednesday and Saturday.
Visit the box office at www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes or call 0844 871 7652.
