MY HAVEN – BEVERLEY KNIGHT

The singer and actress, 43, in her dressing room at the Dominion Theatre in London

1 MY PRINCE

I’m currently playing Rachel Marron, the lead in The Bodyguard here at the Dominion Theatre in London and I make sure my dressing room is a real home from home with some of my favourite things around. This raspberry beret and tambourine were gifts from my idol Prince. I supported him when he played 21 nights at the O2 Arena in London in 2007. People say you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but I met Prince and he was wonderful – his death in April still hasn’t really sunk in for me yet.

2 COME ON WOLVES

I’ve lived in London since I was 22, but I’ll always be a Wolverhampton girl at heart. The excesses of this business can drive you crazy, but when I go home and down to the market with my mum I’m just Our Bev. My Wolves football top symbolises the city for me – whenever I see the gold and black I think of home. I still go to games when I can, and I love this framed photo of me with club legend Steve Bull. He’s retired now, but he’s still the team’s all-time leading scorer and a great ambassador.

3 PROUD PARENTS

Here’s me with my mum Deloris and my dad Edward the day I was presented with my MBE in 2007. They were so proud. My dad was a reserved man but I swear he became a bit teary-eyed when he saw his daughter get a medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace. For Mum and Dad, that day was the culmination of their journey from the West Indies to Wolverhampton, where they made their new life and encouraged their children. Dad died in 2010, but I’m so glad he lived to see that day.

4 FROCK STAR

These are two of my spangly dresses from The Bodyguard. I wear the gold one when I sing I Wanna Dance With Somebody and the red one for I’m Every Woman. Those are songs people associate with Whitney Houston of course, who starred in the original film, so it’s important to do a good job on them. I knew I could hit the notes but I didn’t want to trample on people’s memories of Whitney. So I just focus on the underlying emotions.

You couldn’t copy Whitney anyway, she was unique.

5 ALL CHANGE

My pop career was going well but when I turned 40 I decided I wanted to try something different. I feel comfortable with musical theatre now, and I owe a lot to my husband James. He’s a property developer but he gave me the confidence to take theatrical roles. This life-size cut-out of me is from my stint in the musical Memphis at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2014-15. It was signed by the staff when I left that show for Cats at the Palladium, hence the feline tail.

6 HISTORY GEEK

I’m fascinated by Charles Dickens – I’ve recently read Bleak House, one of his major novels. Apparently he used to walk around London to make sure his stories were accurate. I’m a total history geek actually, particularly the Victorian era. My favourite part of London is Shoreditch where there are still some traces of the Dickensian city. If you walk down the cobbled streets there you can transport yourself back in time by looking up at the Victorian streetlights.

As told to Adrian Thrills. Beverley’s latest album, Soulsville, is out now. The Bodyguard is at the Dominion Theatre until 7 January 2017. Tel: 0845 200 7982.

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