MICHAEL McKell is not only revisiting the Rod Stewart musical by reprising his role in Tonight’s The Night, but also returning to his first career – as a rock star. He was a musician and singer-songwriter in the 1980s until a near-fatal car crash, in 1991, was the catalyst for a career change. He studied acting, going on to appear in classical roles on stage plus an assortment of villains on TV and regular roles in three series, Doctors (as Dr Nick West), Murder Investigation Team and Emmerdale.

Tonight’s The Night, the musical based around the Rod Stewart songbook, brings him back to Sunderland Empire next week to the theatre he played “years ago” with 10cc. He’d just been signed by Phonogram and was in the support act.

He remembers it was April and the theatre wasn’t very full. He was in a winter coat, but outside there were women sunbathing. “I was freezing.

They were very brown, catching the rays,” he recalls.

A decade ago he was in the original London production of Tonight’s The Night, playing British rock star Stoner. He has a lot of good things to say about Stewart and his music. “Rod essentially comes from a storytelling rock’n’roll background,” he says.

“It’s probably sometimes overlooked because of the flamboyance but he has one of the best voices Britain’s produced. He’s a great soul rock singer and has had a 45-year career. People overlook the fact that he wrote a lot of his songs as well. His latest album was the first time he’d been in the studio for a long time and it got straight to number one.”

Stewart has already intimated that he’s going to see the new production as he did with the first staging.

“He brought his family and then his wife Penny did two weeks in the cast in the Hot Legs number which was fantastic,” says McKell. “And we did the Olympic torch-lighting concert with him and so we got to see the very charming, generous side of him.”

The show – about lovesick mechanic Stuart who swaps his soul for Rod Stewart’s – references Stewart but isn’t his story. “We’re taking his soul not his personality. Ben (Heathcote) in his performance takes the essence of that charm and that swagger.”

The show makes you listen to the lyrics in a way you might not do when Stewart is singing. “A lot of people miss how he does connect because of all the swagger and the flash,” says McKell.

“Strip them down and they are great songs. He’s like our generation’s Sinatra. He’s dipped into the American songbook as well.There’s a wealth of material – how do you choose 26 songs for the show?

These shows are a celebration of a catalogue of songs anda particular artist, and hopefully will introduce them to a different market.”

One reason he wanted to do the show again was as a contrast to his recent screen work. “I’ve spent the last few years killing people. I burnt down Emmerdale and have three movies out on DVD this month in which I kill people,” he says.

Jade Ewen, the former Sugarbabes singer who’s in the Tonight’s The Night cast, didn’t realise how many Rod Stewart songs she knew until the musical came along. “I didn’t grow up listening to Rod, but I knew of his stuff which you hear all over the place. I really appreciate the lyrics. Every song is a journey in the story. “The thing is everyone loves to be able to sing along. You can feel the enthusiasm of the audience.

“It feels like in the first act they want to sing, but aren’t quite confident enough. As the show goes on they grow in confidence and, by the end, you get everyone standing up and singing.”

Her previous theatre credits include The Lion King and Whistle Down The Wind. She also represented the UK at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest singing the Andrew Lloyd Webber-penned It’s My Time. She came fifth.

She attended Sylvia Young stage school from the age of 11, training in singing and dancing. “I love live musicians so I chose to pursue singing. You go back into acting and dancing. You’re rusty but as soon as you start rehearsing it all comes back to you. I love it. I’m having the best time.”

Ben Heathcote, who plays Stuart, does sound like Rod Stewart although it was the guitar that began his musical education. He learnt to play guitar when he was 12, then found he had a voice and sang along.

“I did a lot of amateur stuff and found that I liked it, then I went straight to performing arts college at 16,” he says.

“I was lucky enough to be with someone who couldn’t do a job and he said, do you want to do it?

That was a six-month European tour of a musical, so I got straight into musicals.

“Then I got a break in TV when I was seen doing a comedy role and for the past three years I’ve been doing bits of TV and adverts. It’s nice to be back mixing the two, acting and singing.”