In the play Death Of A Salesman by Arthur Miller, the main character Willy Lomas reflects on his past and says: "I realised what a lie my whole life has been."

Listening to Abi, you get the inkling that this passage, written by one of her literary heroes, made her take a good look at her life.

However, whereas Lomas was a relative failure in his life, Abi has been anything but, having earned a fortune from appearing in a legion of lads' mags and at one point presenting an adult TV channel.

In the pantheon of girls-next-door-done-good, she is probably the best-known this country has ever had.

But is being 'famous for being famous' a real job? No, of course it isn't, and that's why Abi has decided to trade in the spotlight for the limelight and become an actress.

Asked if this fulfilment of a childhood dream meant it was now a case of Abi in Wonderland, she replied: "I get excited because I love it so much. I wrote 'actress' for the first time today when I was filling in a form."

And next week audiences at the Sunderland Empire will get to see just how far she has come on this career path, when she stars in The Naked Truth, a comedy written by Dave Simpson (of Girls Night Out fame), revolving around a group of women learning to pole dance for a charity event.

"I play a pole dancing teacher from Yorkshire called Gabby," Abi said.
"It's a comedy cross between the Calendar Girls and The Full Monty."

Wooahhh, there lads! Before you get on the ticket hotline, make note of the caveat Abi was very keen to highlight.

"There is no nakedness in it. I must stress that! At the big finale, it's nothing like the Full Monty."

In fact, this play is far from her debut on stage. In 2006, she played a prostitute with a multiple personality disorder in Arthur Miller's Two Way Mirror at the Courtyard Theatre in London.

"I won an award for that," she adds proudly, referring to her 2007 Fringe Report Award for Best West End Debut in a play.

Feeling more satisfied with her professional life, Abi's also happy she has some semblance of a social life again, after her decision to reduce her media profile.

"I use the Tube again in London. It's the first time in four years. I still get recognised, but not half as much as before. Thank God I don't have that attention any more. I wouldn't want to go back to that."

This all seems a long way from when she first appeared on the public radar back in 1998 when she was regularly snapped out with then boyfriend, former TV presenter John Leslie.

Though Leslie's career was to nose dive with the publication of Ulrika Jonsson's 2002 autobiography, in which she all but named him as a sexual predator, Abi's went stratospheric.

The public, it seemed, couldn't get enough of the demure looking one-time nurse who had supported Leslie through his dark days.

She would go on to garner such accolades as being voted number seven in FHM magazine's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll in 2005.

Abi's life as a celebrity cleavage is a long way from the person we see now, desperately earnest to impress as an actress.

In fact, so scrupulous has her preparation of the role been, that she has even gone on the wagon and practised solidly on a pole for three months to look the part.

"I don't drink any more as I want to succeed in this business," she explained.

"You have to look after yourself. Turning up to pole dance on stage with a hangover is not a great idea."

So what can audiences expect of the play?

"It's uplifting and you will leave with a spring in your step," she said.

"It's 'forgetting your worries' theatre, with lots of great female anthems, such as It's Raining Men and songs by Girls Aloud and Madonna."

Having dipped her toe in the acting pool, she is eager to go on to yet more demanding and complex roles in the future.

She said: "I'd love to play in A Midsummer's Nights Dream at the Globe.

"I saw it and it was so wonderful. I'd also love to do Harold Pinter and more Arthur Miller plays."

As a test of how far she had come as an actress, I asked Lincolnshire-born Abi to give me an example of the Yorkshire accent she uses in the play.

Her stab at "Ay up cocker, what's 'tha up ta?" though not quite cigar-winning, was certainly good enough for this Tyke.

"Well," she laughed. "I am an actress now."