EVERYONE has something they like to do on their days off. And for actress Su Pollard that thing is walking.

Come rain or shine she makes sure she always puts some time aside to get out in the open air in between theatre venues.

And it was a particularly blustery sounding Monday morning when she answered the phone call from the Adver.

The star, who celebrates her 60th birthday later this year, is currently starring as Miss Hannigan in Annie. She is coming to the Bristol Hippodrome from Tuesday and is revelling in the part.

“I love the role of Miss Hannigan, she is absolutely fantastic,” she said.

“She is a great character to play, especially as she deteriorates with the drink as the play progresses.

“You just see her getting more manic as the kids wind her up. I’ve played her before and she’s one of my favourite characters.

“And I wear hardly any make-up so I can be ready in three minutes, which is great.”

Su was even willing to adopt some method acting techniques to get to the heart of the role.

“I had suggested that I could go on a pub crawl and put my drinks on expenses as research for the role, but the director just laughed and said no,” she laughed. “It was worth a try though.

“She’s an alcoholic but at the same time I play her with a bit of sympathy. I feel a bit sorry for her really.”

Su made her name in some of the best-loved comedies on TV including You Rang M’Lord, Two Up, Two Down and of course, Hi-De-Hi, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

“It was great and I’ve worked with some lovely people over the years,” she said.

“Les Dennis was great, he’s a really good mate. Uri Geller and Bernard Manning were wonderful to work with and, of course, I just loved working with Paul (Shane) and Jeff (Holland) on all the shows we did together.

“I’ve been very fortunate to work with some incredibly nice and talented people over the years.”

When the Annie tour finishes in November, Su will be taking on the role of the Wicked Queen in Snow White in Bournemouth.

“It’s like a more glamorous version of Miss Hannigan,” she said.

“I’m really looking forward to it as I’ve played the role before. I love being on stage and the reactions you get for panto are brilliant.”

Next year is set to be a busy and sun-filled one for the star.

“I’ve been doing a 60s musical and they want to take that to New Zealand, which will be great, and I’ve been in talks with the director to be part of the next series of Benidorm,” said Su.

“I’d get to go out there for three weeks and during breaks in filming I’m planning on eating tapas.”