Former Hi-De-Hi! star Su Pollard tackles mental illness in one-woman play Harpy at the Kings Theatre, Southsea

But Su Pollard is reprising a role that will show many a whole new side to the much-loved actress.

Following a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018, Su is taking Harpy on a UK tour which is co-produced by, and starts at the Kings Theatre in Southsea.

Award-winning playwright Philip Meeks (Kiss Me Honey, Honey!; Murder, Margaret and Me), wrote the piece specifically for the actress.

She stars as Birdie in a heart-wrenching exploration of one woman’s struggles with mental health and loneliness, manifesting itself through extreme hoarding.

At its heart it’s a bittersweet dramatic comedy, which showcases a grittier side to the Su Pollard of the ’80s, and also asks us to look beyond our prejudices against those who appear to disrupt the norm.

Su tells The Guide: ‘About six years ago, I was in a panto in Sunderland with the author, Mr Philip Meeks. He was the dame and I was the wicked queen, and we had such a good connection.

‘He's written so many plays, radio plays as well as stage plays, and he said: “I've got this great idea, I'd like to write something for you. Let me give you the synopsis…”

‘I loved it.’

‘It is very relevant today, so many people are suffering from this, and of course it's a form of mental illness.

‘The hoarding isn’t a problem, it's the symptom of a problem. And the problem mostly extends way back in someone's life.

‘Something's been taken from them for whatever reason, so therefore, they're desperate to hang on to every single thing they've got.

‘It's a relevant piece but it's ever so sad and poignant - but there's some really funny bits as well.

‘There's lots of lovely moments in it that I think sadly, really a lot of people can identify with.’

How did she find it getting into the character when Philip first presented it to her?

‘Well, you read it obviously several times and it kind of gets into your psyche, and you think: “Bless her”. She's actually not unlike several people that I know.

‘I try to empathise with all the people that have got some other problems, not necessarily hoarding.

‘But I thought to myself, I just want to make her not be a harridan, because her neighbours call her a harridan and a hag, and a harpy. Harpy actually comes from Greek mythology, it's a bird that swoops on to people and things and devours them. And so in a way that's what she does – she devours these items.

‘But I wanted to make her sympathetic.’

Does she think we as a society have lost that ability to empathise with people like Birdie?

‘Oh yes, I think that’s absolutely right.

‘There's one point in the piece where one of her neighbours who hasn't actually ever met Birdie, she knows of her, and has heard about this hoarding-thing and she actually says to Birdie: “You must have heard of that terrible house of horrors, that infestation, the plague, the plummeting property prices.”

‘And of course, it’s poor Birdie that she’s talking about. This woman has had to really put up with some terrible gossip about her and she tries desperately not to let it upset her but of course it does.

‘These people are living in plain sight with these problems. How do you know what your next door neighbour is going through? Unless you get invited into their home… and with Birdie’s you can't even get in it, they can't even get past the porch, she’s got that much stuff!

‘People should really try and err on the side of kindness, when you never really know what people are going through.’

When the show made its debut in Edinburgh, it was also Su’s first time performing there.

‘It was beautifully received and I had a lovely time,’ she recalls.

‘But also a lot of people came and I think they found comfort from it, because a lot of social workers came and they said to Philip, “I think this should be videoed and we should teach this to would-be social workers”.

‘It's very factual – he did a lot of research. Obviously there's theatrical license, of course, it's a play, but basically he's made sure that he knows all the facts.

‘I'm very aware of that, so I want to portray it with the truth and the realism it needs. I just hope that when people come along, they get value for money – they might learn something from it, and they're going to enjoy the piece as a whole.

‘The main thing is at the end of the play, it's lovely because you come away with a feeling that there will be hope for Birdie, which is really nice.’

And as an actress, it’s given Su a chance to show people that she can do more than “ditzy.”

‘I've been able to have a little bit more depth, as a performer. Hi-De-Hi! is very high comedy, very slapstick, very farce – obviously you don't want to go totally away from that, that's why she's got some comedy as well in there, but it's nice to have different layers as well.

‘it’s rather nice to be able to explore those different avenues.’

Although Hi-De-Hi finished in 1988, it has remained popular through regular repeats on daytime BBC2 and UKTV Gold. While many of her co-stars have sadly since died, the surviving cast have kept in touch with each other.

‘I was in panto recently with Jeffrey Holland who played (club comic) Spike. And we were the first to acknowledge how lucky you are when you get a fabulous show that people remember years and years later and still think of it with fondness. We will never underestimate the power of good television.

‘We went to a reunion recently of the ones that are still here – for 40 years since the pilot.

‘Myself and Jeff and Ruth (Madoc who played chief yellow coat Gladys Pugh) were there, of course, and some of the yellow coats. They were all remembered with a glass of bubbly.

‘And certainly, so were Jimmy Perry and David Croft the writers. If it wasn't for them and their talent, we'd never have been fortunate enough to have been in such a success.’

With a career stretching back 46 years, Su has been to the Kings several times before.

‘I absolutely love it there. They’ve got a really good theatre-going public because if you haven't got the audience, you’re stymied as a performer and a writer.

‘Everybody needs an audience and they're very good, they're very eclectic. They've always been known as a number one date – when you're given a tour, you check the venues that you're going to, and Southsea is always on people's list of places they want to go.’

Harpy is at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, on March 12 and 13. Adult tickets £22. Go to kingsportsmouth.co.uk.