Equally at home performing with the English National Opera or in front of football fans at Wembley Stadium, Lesley Garrett is the opera singer who keeps it real. Chris Price tried to hold a note with her.

For the woman considered Britain’s best-loved soprano, there is something very down to earth about Lesley Garrett.

Chatting in her office in her north London home, the 56-year-old has not lost the friendly nature which comes from growing up in Thorne, a village just outside Doncaster in South Yorkshire.

Her latest studio album, A North Country Lass, is a group of folk-inspired songs, selected after she mined more than six centuries of traditional music to complete.

Due out in April, her take on 16 much-loved pieces of music will be the 14th solo album in an esteemed operatic career which has included performances with the Welsh National Opera, the English National Opera, the Royal Opera and a number of FA Cup finals.

Yet it is her extra-curricular activities, like becoming a TV personality, which Lesley believes has kept her grounded in reality, unlike more authentic opera singers.

As well as hosting her own primetime shows such as Lesley Garrett Tonight, the soprano has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, been a veteran on Countdown’s Dictionary Corner and is regularly on the panel of Loose Women.

“Fame is not something a traditional opera singer seeks” said Lesley in her perky manner.

“Traditional opera singers are very driven and private people and concentrate only on the music and performance. What drives me is the need to convince the wider public that they should hear this music and see opera. It is an amazing art form.”

Part of her mission to bring opera to the masses is her stage show, which she is touring for a second time. Celebrating 30 years of performance in the worlds of opera, musicals, television, radio and concerts, she reminisces on her achievements and takes questions from the audience. Along with some behind-the-scenes stories she also sings some of the most special songs from her past.

“I sing them in an intimate way as I am singing to each person there” she said.

“They are very special songs that represent a turning point in my life. I meander through my life and the reasons why I have made the choices I have. The show is something my friends have been asking me to do for a long time, ever since I wrote my autobiography 10 years ago. I suppose I had better start thinking about volume two. It is an emotional night because all the songs are very special to me.”

Lesley found herself in Kent late last year for the photoshoot for her new album, which was done at Boughton Manor in Loose, near Maidstone. She described the place as “absolutely beautiful” and insisted she will come and stay in Kent if she ever 'gets a caravan’.

Her show stops off in Canterbury, a city Lesley has only been to once before, while recording a DVD with her Strictly Come Dancing partner Anton Du Beke and his professional partner Erin Boag. Lesley was actually a contestant in the first series of Strictly Come Dancing, finishing third.

“It was great to be on the very beginning of something that has become so successful but I wish I was doing it now” she said.

“They do so much more dancing and it’s more glamorous and fab. The studio we had was much smaller and now it’s the biggest the BBC has.

She added: “I’m also thrilled I am Anton’s most successful ever partner. He would be a wonderful host for the show if the job became available. They don’t give him anybody good to dance with, but he is so funny. He sets himself up for it with his great personality. It’s a shame it gets the better of his dancing.”

An Evening With Lesley Garrett takes place at Canterbury’s Gulbenkian Theatre on Wednesday, February 29. Tickets £20. Box office 01227 769075.