Aussie recording star Emily Williams leads The Bodyguard cast in Southampton

Emily starred in the 2017 Australian production which marked her theatrical debut. Now she’s on the road with the show in this country with dates including The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, October 30-November 4.

The story was famously first the film starring Whitney Houston. In the piece, former secret service agent turned bodyguard Frank Farmer is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge – what they don't expect is to fall in love...

“It was my first theatre show when I did it,” says Emily. “I hadn't thought that my aim went towards theatre but I did it. It is actually very hard singing Whitney. You have to have a certain set of pipes to be able to sing all those songs every evening but one of the songs that I sang on Australian idol was I Will Always Love You and I think the people that are bringing the show over here must have heard me sing that and wanted me. I still had to audition. I still went through that whole process but I am so pleased to be doing it.

“The songs obviously have to be in a certain register. I have been a soprano singer my entire life and where Whitney chose to sing the songs sits well for me but it's still very, very hard. You have to have a certain stamina but I've been a church singer since yee high, and I think singing in church constantly has allowed me to do this.

“And with the acting I just had to really trust myself. I had to watch The Bodyguard again a few times just to get the feel. Obviously I knew it but when you are playing a character you really want to connect with that character so I had to really knuckle down and watch it a few more times. I had to get a certain feel for the way Whitney decided to play the character but also it was important for me to put my own twist on it. I didn't just want her to be the ultimate diva all the time. I felt that she had to be someone that the audience would connect with so that she was really relatable.”

Emily's brother and sister had acted before her: “So it was really good to be able to draw strength from my siblings.

"Really I don't know where it came from but I just had to hone in on the character. The Bodyguard was the one show that I really wanted to do and when I got the chance I took it and then after that I went back on tour because my singles and albums were coming out. And then when they asked me to come to the UK to play it I just thought that I had to dust off my ballet shoes. It was an easy decision. I really wanted to experience London and Ireland. I wanted to get to know the people and the culture. I just wanted to understand more about London and I just love being here. I could really live here but I've got a lot of family back home and my daughter is turning 21.”

Emily will certainly be indulging her passion for running while she is over here: “I just run until I stop. I don't even count. I could run maybe for an hour and a half. For me it is about my mental health and about staying fit. It really helps me in so many ways but it really puts me in a peaceful place but it also helps me with the stage show.”