Singer Cheryl says she has a “healthy amount of nerves” about making her West End debut.

Speaking to Sky News ahead of her opening night in 2:22 – A Ghost Story, the Girls Aloud star said she has been baffled by how people have been shocked to hear she acts.

“To me it’s like another side of entertainment, it’s not a million miles away for me,” she said. “When I came to see the show it just felt right, I just felt like I could truly do that and enjoy it. And I have.”

Following in the footsteps of singer Lily Allen and former Love Island host Laura Whitmore, who are among several stars who have appeared in the hit play, audiences will see how Cheryl‘s character Jenny believes her new home is haunted.

But while the play may be frightening, theatreland’s newest leading lady certainly isn’t scared.

“It’s live so whatever happens on that stage happens on that stage, and [during previews] we’ve had a few things smashing, things leaking, a few disasters, but that’s just part of the experience of it,” she said.

“It’s more scary when you feel nothing, like when you’re halfway through a tour and your body is doing it but your mind is thinking nothing, that’s when you make mistakes… so a little amount of nerves are healthy and helpful.”

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While tabloids have relished writing about the singer’s move into acting – speculating she’s receiving one of the biggest fees in West End history and paying paparazzi to secretly snap pictures of her on stage – she says her “coping mechanism” is to block it all out.

“I don’t look at any of that, I am having a ball,” she says.

‘I can feel the energy’

Of course, it’s a little harder to ignore the army of Cheryl fans who have been out in force for all her preview performances.

“I can feel the energy… I’ve got some that have supported me for decades that are still coming to support and it’s the weirdest thing, I can sense them, I can feel the love,” she said.

However, the star concedes there are moments when she thinks: “Don’t start whooping!”

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While she’s picked up plenty of awards for her music – could the future now hold Oliviers, BAFTAs, even an Oscar?

“I’m just enjoying being in the moment,” she says. “If that comes, lovely; if not that’s also fine, because I’m really enjoying myself.”

Cheryl stars in 2:22 – A Ghost Story at the Lyric Theatre until 23 April

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