Two tours and the launch of a Fame Academy are planned by Jennifer Ellison for 2009.

JENNIFER Ellison has recovered from a bout of pleurisy and a battle to complete her starring role of Cinderella in home city Liverpool’s pantomime at Christmas.

She’s ready for what she calls an “eye-opening year” which will see her star in two UK and European tours and launch her own Fame Academy. But, in spite of announcing her engagement to boxer Robbie Tickle, the 25-year-old admits there probably isn’t enough time for the pair to marry in August as she originally hoped.

“I fell over a stagehand in the black-out as I was coming off and I ended up with two cracked ribs. That turned into a chest infection which became pleurisy. I was ill all over Christmas and New Year,” she says of the incident at the Liverpool Empire.

Ellison’s delighted to have recovered from the health scare and then admits she nearly frightened herself to death by signing up for the Vagina Monologues, which tours to Darlington Civic Theatre in a fortnight’s time, without reading the script. “It’s totally different to saying ‘hello boys and girls’ in panto to shouting obscenities at the top of my voice. It’s actually quite liberating. But when I got the script after I’d signed up to do the first four weeks of the tour I thought ‘oh my God, I can’t do this’. I was really panicking, but now I absolutely love it,” she says.

Even the fact that, since 1999, she’s regularly featured in 100 Sexiest Women lists, having posed for “lads’ mags”, is unlikely to bring a few more men into the audience for a show which is seen as a girls’ night out.

“It is a girly show and it’s like sitting with your two best friends (comedian Jenny Eclair and Coronation Steet star Wendi Peters join her on stage) and talking about subjects that normally women are too afraid to talk about. It’s not like going out there and performing Chicago,” Ellison says.

She has agreed to do the Liverpool leg of the Vagina Monologue’s tour but is preparing for a massive 30th anniversary tour of Jeff Wayne’s The War Of The Worlds, which will play the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle on June 12.

“My dad is a huge fan of the music so I grew up listening to it. But I’d never seen the show until I was offered the role of Beth. Now I’ve seen the DVD and for every tour Jeff Wayne is adding new things like CGI screens and hiring an illusionist from Las Vegas. The tour is practically sold out which, with the credit crunch, is amazing. I sing and I dance in the show and it’s a lovely role in a very competitive industry. I’m really glad because not everyone finds work after being in a soap for six years. Since I’ve left Brookside I’ve done job after job and they are things like Chicago and films such as Phantom Of The Opera and The Cottage and TV dramas.”

Ellison is determined to become Mrs Tickle and start a family but is still discussing the idea of whether the couple should sell their wedding picture coverage to one of the celebrity magazines.

“I want to be Mrs Tickle. I don’t think anyone would have trouble recognising that name,” she laughs. “I think I’m going to struggle to plan everything this year so the marriage is likely to be early next year. It’s going to be the best day of my life and I’m only going to do it once so I want it to be perfect. It would be lovely to have the wedding paid for by one of the magazines, but there is the security side where people will be after pictures of the wedding. It’s something we’re going to have to think long and hard about,” Ellison says.

On the serious side she admits that media interest in her love-life is usually harder on her partners than herself.

“I’ve been in this business 13 years and, at first, everything upsets you and due to my previous relationships I’ve had quite a lot of negative press. So I’ve learned to let things roll off my back. But this is all new to Rob and his family and it’s not been a gradual process for them to deal with,” she says.

The trained dancer is determined to give back some of success she’s had by opening a Fame Academy in Liverpool where up to 90 youngsters will train in stagecraft.

“We’re looking at three sites and, eventually, I want students to come here from London rather than go to London like I had to,” she says.