Claire Sweeney is one of Britain's most multi-talented stars -- actress, singer and TV personality -- whose rise from Liverpudlian butcher's daughter to West End leading lady and soap favourite has made her a household name. She first appeared in Brookside as Lindsey Corkhill before conquering reality TV (Celebrity Big Brother, Dancing on Ice ) and musical theatre (including Chicago).

Today, Claire - who recently paid moving tribute to boxer Ricky Hatton following his death, after the pair briefly dated following their stint on Dancing On Ice, brings her wit, drama and charm to new audiences -- and in this exclusive interview with OK!, reveals the defining moments behind her journey to fame - and the sliding doors moment that changed everything....

Claire, growing up in Liverpool, balancing theatre school with working in your father's butcher shop, what initially drew you to a career in entertainment?

Well, like most 80s kids at the time, I was obsessed with Fame, the TV show. I started dancing and then I went to stage school in Liverpool, and my dad was a butcher and my mother was a barmaid. There's a teacher there -- if you watch Benidorm, she was Johnny Vegas's mum - who singled me out and said, "You can sing" and said, "Now, you need a thing called an equity card. You go around the social clubs and sing, old people's homes or whatever, get experience and you get your equity card." And dad said, "I can sort that out."

Your dad was instrumental, wasn't he?

Yes, he had a van and he'd go around all the pubs, open the back doors, flog meat out the back, right? So he decided to bribe the concert secretary of the Montro Social Club with a leg of lamb to let me sing. So that was my very first gig. He gave him a leg of lamb, let me sing, and I carried on from there. It was quite funny because every Christmas I got very, very busy, but there were lots of turkeys going in the back of clubs! God bless me dad. The only way he knew how to give me a step up was to give us meat.

How did shows like Big Brother and Dancing on Ice compare with Brookside and Coronation Street?

Starting out -- I started on cruise ships first as a singer, on summer seasons, pantos... And then got into Brookside, which was great for me. In our business, it's so transient. We're travelling all the time. You're never in one place. So for me to get into my favourite TV show, to learn the craft of acting -- I'd never acted before -- I literally learned on the job. Then just to be in one place going to work every day, but going to work with my idols -- Barry Grant, Jimmy Corkill -- I was beyond thrilled.

You were a housemate on the first series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2001 - how did that come about?

I remember getting invited to the BAFTA Awards with Brookside, and there'd been a show on TV at the time called Big Brother. I never watched it. Reality TV didn't exist. There was no Strictly, no jungle, nothing like that.

I was chatting to a guy at the next table and at the end of the night, a spotlight came on him. Everyone stood up and gave him a standing ovation and I thought it was me - it turned out it was director, Richard Curtis. He was in charge of Comic Relief and they were doing a Celebrity Big Brother for Comic Relief - Mel B had just dropped out. He phoned Brookside and said, "I met Claire at the BAFTAs. Would you like to do it?"

You did - and that chance meeting opened a lot of doors, didn't it?!

I did, it was a game changer. I was leaving Brookside, wanted to be in musical theatre, and I went into a house for two weeks -- bearing in mind it was all very kind then. There was no one trying to stitch you up or get a headline. So I did that and then came out and then... all my dream jobs landed on my lap.

After years of schlepping around clubs, summer seasons, pantos - to suddenly sit in a house for two weeks, drink tea and then get all your dream jobs, I thought, "This is easy." It was such a great chance encounter.

You've starred in Britain's most beloved TV dramas. Which role stands out?

I grew up watching Coronation Street. So to be part of an iconic show -- even this morning, I was filming a scene with Dame Maureen Lipman and walking on the cobbles - I still pinch myself every day.

But Brookside was groundbreaking. There were only four channels. Millions of people watched the soaps at the time. And producer Phil Redmond was not scared to take chances. He was always ahead of the game with edgy storylines. So, the joy of both is very different. Each day, I count my blessings.

You're also a celebrated singer, with acclaimed musical theatre performances. What does music and the stage mean to you?

I love musical theatre. Joining Southport Youth Theatre, being in Hair, auditioning for Chicago with the Southport Youth Theatre and not getting the part, I'll never get over it! I think Martha, whose mother made the teas, got the part. I've let it go. But that was always the dream. Even when I was in Brookside, every year we'd do a Christmas concert and I'd get up and do all my Lloyd Webber stuff, all my show songs.

It's what led you to leaving Brookside, isn't it?

Yes. I'd just turned 30 and I went to Phil Redmond and said, "Phil, I'm 30. I've just come out of a six-year relationship. I've got to go and fulfil this dream of being in a musical." And I auditioned for Chicago. Within that short space of time of leaving Brookside, auditioning for Chicago, I did Celebrity Big Brother, and my career just exploded.

I came out and went into Chicago, which was nice. When I do my cabaret, I talk all about that. I talk about experiences and working with Patrick Swayze in Guys and Dolls and all the shows over the years. It's nice, isn't it? I feel very lucky.

You've always used your platform to give back. Can you tell us about some of the charities you support?

I've worked for Claire House since I was a teenager. I helped raise a million quid for their teenage ward. And recently, I've got involved with another charity which I hold very dear to my heart actually -- Brinsworth House for the Royal Variety. I went and sang there for all the old-time artist performers and doing my gig thinking, "I'm getting my name down here. I'm going to be in here. This looks lovely." Leaning on the piano, reclining singing Ladies Who Lunch.

I've lost a lot of friends to AIDS over the years, so I was actively involved with charities like the Terrence Higgins Trust as well. And I've been to Africa several times for Save the Children and Comic Relief. And that was a wonderful experience to go and see actually where the money that is raised at home - the difference it's making.

What's one of your most poignant memories from those trips to Africa?

I remember going to Sierra Leone and it was all the kids who were affected -- the gun soldiers. To actively see the money that, when you're at home making your phone call donating to Comic Relief, which I've done myself many, many times over the years, to actually go to Africa and see where that money is going, is brilliant.

But I'm also a firm believer that charity starts at home too - that's why Brinsworth means so much to me. And I think there's sometimes that disconnect between the money that we give and actually seeing the benefit of it to people.

Coronation Street's Claire Sweeney shares emotional belief after boyfriend Ricky Hatton's shock death - The Mirror