Rocky romances and love secrets gave Claire Sweeney plenty of inspiration for Sex in Suburbia

Havin a disastrous date may seem like no laughing matter.

Claire Sweeney would disagree and audiences packing into her show Sex in Suburbia are finding romantic mishaps offering plenty of reason to chortle.

The show was penned by the former Brookside favourite and her pal Mandy Muden.

The genesis came when Claire was starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tell Me On A Sunday, a musical about a women looking for love in the wrong places.

“I was recounting a string of disastrous funny dates to my producer,” Claire told The Sunday Post.

“He used to laugh his head off and said I needed to start writing them down. Mandy and I started doing that and it became this show.

“We gathered other people’s stories, pinching friends’ stuff so it’s not all mine.”

You can’t help but wonder which romantic encounters stand out in Claire’s own experience. And the chatty star is happy to share.

“I think the one that scarred me most was when I was 16. I went out with a fella who worked for the gas board.

“He came to collect me in his gas van. I had a strapless dress on and it split open during the date.

“I was most upset because I had my mother’s panty girdle on. It was the days before Spanx and I had these huge great knickers.

“I think it was the big knickers that scarred me most.”

The show initially ran for a month to ecstatic reviews at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre.

Now it’s on the road with new material Claire has written.

It sounds like a broad-minded girls’ night out. And while that’s the case, Claire insists it’s far from a female-only experience.

“It’s quite shocking and a bit naughty, but it’s not vulgar,” she explains.

“It’s done tongue-in-cheek and there’s pathos in the humour. Some of the stories are quite beautiful.

“Grans come with their daughters and granddaughters. And groups of men come which surprised me.”

There’s been an extra addition to Claire’s life since she initially penned the show baby Jaxon she had with partner Daniel.

He arrived at the end of September and the ever-practical actress has just fitted him in to her life.

“Hang on,” she says from the other end of the line. “I’m just feeding him. I’m going to stick this on speaker.”

And it’s very much a case of baby-came-too as far as taking the show on the road is concerned.

“I’ve got a really good friend with me to help,” she explains.

“I’m only on stage for two hours in the evening and he’s with me the rest of the time.”

The dates were planned before Jaxon’s arrival and she insists that, like any working mum, you just need to work round things.

Having had a couple of miscarriages Claire confesses that there was a time she wasn’t sure that motherhood was something she’d ever experience.

“But he’s here now and we’re all lucky and happy,” says the 43-year-old Liverpool-born actress.

“I always knew I would be a good mum. I just love babies but I can’t believe this overwhelming love it just consumes you.

“When he first came out he was screaming and I was screaming. We both stopped and looked at each other and I gave him a kiss.

“From that moment there was an instant bond. He’s a very happy, contented baby who’s no trouble at all.”

Claire has recently started a radio show on Magic. She plays songs and interviews the stars from musical theatre shows, something she concedes is a real labour of love.

It doesn’t take either too much time or take her away from home.

“You just have to choose your jobs differently,” she says of life as new working mum.

“There are certain jobs that won’t be appropriate once he’s at nursery in a couple of years. But at the moment he can come with me everywhere.

“And I’ve got a lovely family and great support network around me and that’s really important.

“The show I’ve written is on the road and I’ve got a new radio show, so it’s been a great start to the year.”

Sunday March 22, Theatre Royal Glasgow; Monday March 23 Edinburgh Playhouse; Tuesday March 24, Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline.