ALREADY Jade Ewen has starred in the West End by the age of ten, represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest and been a member of The Sugababes.

Now she is appearing in the national tour of Tonight's The Night, The Rod Stewart Musical, bringing her to York for the first time for a week's run at the Grand Opera House from Monday.

She freely admits to knowing nothing about York. "I have no idea of what's there," she says. "But it's always good to go to a new place."

Playing Dee Dee in Ben Elton's musical comedy Tonight's The Night is new territory for Jade, too. "I hadn't seen the show, though I knew it had been in the West End ten years ago and that it had Rod Stewart's music," she says.

The production company has added a song specifically for Jade. "They've brought in The First Cut Is The Deepest, which is really full-on.

My two big songs are the only acoustic ones in the show. What AmI Gonna Do is the other one and they both start a cappella. I can hear everything from the stage: a cough, a pin drop. It's really testing."

Ben Elton's show revolves around shy Stuart Clutterbuck, a geeky young mechanic from Detroit who lacks the courage to declare his love to the girl of his dreams.

One night, however, he strikes a deal with the Devil, trading his soul for Rod Stewart’s, but soon he discovers you can’t find true love by using another man’s moves. Stuart will never be Stewart.

Into that story comes Jade's Dee Dee.

"She's sassy," says Jade, whose casting looks to the manner born. "Do you know; most people aren't surprised. I wonder why," she says with amused self-awareness. "She's very opinionated but still has some vulnerable moments, which is a lovely balance to do."

Jade, who is taking part in the Tonight's The Night tour from January to the end of May, has loved life on stage since childhood days.

"I went to a local dance school in Leytonstone in East London as my mother loved music and was always encouraging me," she says. "I was about ten when we saw an advert for Whistle Down The Wind in the West End and I got the role of Curly. I auditioned for a scholarship at the Sylvia Young Theatre School after that, and then I saw an advert for auditions for The Lion King and I thought, 'I've got to do that'.

"There were thousands of children auditioning, but at that time, nothing terrifies you. You think, 'I'm as good as anyone; I'm going to get this'."

Sure enough, Jade landed the part of Nala, best friend of the future king, Simba.

"I remember thinking on the opening night, 'This is what I want to do from now on'," she says.

She will remain forever grateful for her five years of training at Sylvia Young's theatre school. "There were only 150 students in the school, so there was real quality there, with the teachers putting so much into each and every one of us," she says.

Jade came to attention when she represented the United Kingdom in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, singing an Andrew Lloyd Webber composition, It's My Time. She bucked the trend of the UK's lamentable placings in recent years by finishing fifth.

"Andrew Lloyd Webber writing the song was a massive factor in that, but it was still hard," she says.

"You can see a lot of tactical voting, but we just tried to give a credible performance, which I think we did. I felt like our song was quite serious by comparison with the others. We just had a grand staircase, a piano with Andrew Lloyd Webber playing it and a string quartet, rather than the usual fireworks and camp costumes. It was basically typically English."

Jade went on to join The Sugababes, a girl group with a constantly changing line-up by then. "I came in in 2010 after things had started to go downhill, but I went to some beautiful places and did some amazing things like singing at the Monaco Grand Prix," she says.

"And I remember sitting next to Liz Hurley when Elton John was performing a charity gig. That was one of my first experiences in the group, when everyone though it was normal and I just had to try to act cool."

Is Jade sad that The Sugababes appear to be at an end?

"Not really," she says. "I wasn't in the group originally; I was prepared for my involvement not to be long-lasting and it wasn't."

Tonight's The Night, The Rod Stewart Musical, runs at Grand Opera House, York, Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or atgtickets.com/york


Jade Ewen facts

Full name: Jade Louise Ewen.

Why, where and when will she be in York? Starring as Dee Dee in Tonight's The Night, The Rod Stewart Musical, at the Grand Opera House, Monday to Saturday.

Born: Plaistow, Newham, January 24, 1988.

Age: 26.

Occupation: Singer, dancer and actress from young age, winning scholarship to Sylvia Young Theatre School. During her five years there, she won role of Nala in West End production of The Lion King. Earlier, she starred as Curly in Whistle Down The Wind in West End.

Did you know? Began pop career in girl group Trinity Stone, 2005-2007; signed to Sony BMG.

Eurovision: Represented United Kingdom at 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. Chosen by public, she performed Andrew Lloyd Webber's It’s My Time, achieving fifth place, the best by a Brit in past 13 years.

What happened next: Went through ever-revolving door to join The Sugbabes in 2010.

Television career: Played lead roles of Aggie Thackeray in Australian series Out There and Lara Lovell in Channel 5's Steffi; appeared in BBC's Mr Harvey Lights A Candle and Myths.

In fashion: In 2011, entrepreneur Michelle Mone chose Jade to model Miss Ultimo lingerie.

Business venture: In 2013, she launched range of Zumba fitness classes with Olympic gymnastics medallist Louis Smith.

Did you know too? Jade is patron of Young Carers, a cause close to her heart as both her parents are registered blind.