THE revival of Blues In The Night marks singer Louise Rose's professional theatre debut although she's no newcomer to the entertainment business. Still only 24, she's been performing since she was eight including singing for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest and two years with girl band Precious.

She doesn't find it too surprising that she's singing the blues on stage at West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds in the Tony Award-nominated jazz and blues musical featuring songs made famous by the likes of Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday. That's because Lady Sings The Blues, the Holliday biopic starring Diana Ross, is one of Rose's favourite movies.

More recently, seeing the Andrew Lloyd Webber show Tell Me On A Sunday made her think that "I'd love to do that". So she grabbed with both hands the offer to do Blues In The Night, a big hit with audiences last Christmas and revived this year by popular demand.

For Rose, who's embarking on a solo musical and acting career, it was the perfect opportunity for her theatre debut. "It's been very hard work, it's like performing a two-hour concert each day," she says. "I was very lucky because soul music is where I originated from. It's a small cast so I have got my space to shine, as it were. It's the perfect show."

Her musical career began when she was about eight and her mother heard her singing in the bathroom. "I was singing along to a group and one of the numbers had a really long note. My mum said, 'Is that my child?' and formed a group with two other girls and me," she recalls.

Girl group LDK appeared on TV shows, including Wackaday and Saturday morning children's BBC, before splitting up because "the other girls didn't share my passion for music", she says

At 17, she joined the five-strong Precious who were chosen to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem in 1999 with the song, Say It Again. Although the number debuted at No 6 in the UK singles chart, Precious could only manage 12th place in the competition.

"We all thought it was a fantastic experience. Being Eurovision, you have to promote the single and we did more interviews than Geri Halliwell who'd just left the Spice Girls. Afterwards we went on tour, supporting Five and Boyzone."

They released their debut album, Precious, followed by two more singles.

Eventually, Precious broke up as individual members went off to pursue separate careers. One, Jenny Frost, joined Atomic Kitten. Rose embarked a solo career.

"I definitely knew that I wanted to pursue music but what form I wasn't sure. It takes a moment to find your feet again and I was one of the youngest ones in the group," she says. "I'm at the early stages of a musical career so I'm still developing. My music now is acoustic rock - very different to Precious."

She doesn't see herself as too young to be singing the blues. "Age doesn't matter because everyone experiences relationships that have good and bad points. We all go through bad times and that's something I can relate to singing the songs," she says.

Away from the stage, she's writing material and has just co-written a song for a group in France. Rose has already made acting appearances in EastEnders, Casualty and Dream Team. In the latter, Sky One's football drama, she was the receptionist and team co-ordinator who went out with a footballer who cheated on her. "I'm a natural drama queen," she jokes.

There's talk too of a feature film in the New Year after the run of Blues In The Night. Meanwhile, she's looking forward to singing in front of an audience again.

"There's a live band and, as singing is my passion, it's fantastic to sing with a live band. The others are all fantastic singers so I'm constantly learning," she adds.

* Blues In The Night: Courtyard Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, from December 10 to January 29. Box Office: 0113 213 7700

Published: ??/??/2004