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Following her successful West End debut in 9 to 5: The Musical, Oxshott’s Louise Redknapp is getting ready to take to the stage as a solo star once again. Simone Hellyer speaks to her ahead of next year’s album release and tour

- Simone Hellyer

After an 18-year break from the music industry, Oxshottbased singer Louise Redknapp could be forgiven for feeling some trepidation about going back into the studio to record a new album. It turns out that could not be further from the truth – far from being nervous, Louise is excited for the release of her new music (the album is due out in January) and is itching to perform live again.

“To make a new album is so exciting; it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for ages, but with timing, opportunity and all the rest of that, it hasn’t happened. It has been really great to get back in the studio, but it has taken me quite a long time to write and record – it’s been an 18-month process,” she reveals. “I don’t think I felt nervous, I think it’s like anything you do – you just want it to be the best that it can be and you want it to be received well. The nice thing is that I don’t have a lot riding on it, it’s not like I had an album out two years ago and feel like I’ve got to match that. I just want to enjoy it and hope that other people do too.”

Louise first rose to fame in the nineties as one-quarter of R&B girl group Eternal, before launching a successful solo career, securing several TV presenting jobs and launching A Style Album, a successful fashion and lifestyle blog with her best friend. But it was her standout performances on Strictly Come Dancing (especially that memorable Argentine tango) in 2016 that can be thanked for rebooting her career.

In January this year, she made her West End debut as Violet Newstead in