DENISE Van Outen wanted to write a musical which would connect with all the women out there who have had their hearts broken.

The result was one-woman show Some Girl I Used To Know, co-written by Denise and Terry Ronald.

It is about a woman called Stephanie, from Chelmsford, who reminisces about her clubbing days and a past love while singing hits from Eighties and Nineties.

The show is coming to the Palace Theatre, Westcliff, from March 13 to 15, and Denise took time out to have a chat about her latest project.

She says: “I wanted to tap into the emotion and the heartbreak women feel. When I was growing up, the only thing that tapped into that was the film Shirley Valentine.

“Although I was a lot younger, I still related to her pain and emotion. I wanted a show that dealt with those issues.

“That is what I brought to the table when I was working with Terry.”

Denise has had her own share of heartache in recent months following the announcement she had split up with her husband, the singer Lee Mead. With strict instructions from her PR that Denise would not answer questions on her personal life, I had to tread carefully around the subject of Lee and their relationship.

However, Denise has remained positive about the amicable break-up.

At the time of their parting, she said: “Lee is the nicest person in the world and the best dad in the world,” she said.

“Our marriage may not haveworked but I did pick a brilliant father and great friend.”

With the play, Denise was keen to shine a light on modern-day difficulties that relationships face.

She says: “I wanted to explore whether women can have it all. I have a friend who went into PR and didn’t have children because she was focused on her career.

“Then there are people, like me, who juggle working and a family. I think you can have it all, but it comes at a price.”

She was also keen to sing her heart out to songs from the Eighties and Nineties.

“They were my partying years,”

she laughs. “I was out every Thursday in Hollywoods, in Romford, from the age of 16 and I loved the Ibiza scene in the Nineties – I was a right little raver.

“In the show I sing stripped-down versions of songs by Donna Summer, Culture Club and Soft Cell and Billy Ray Martin’s Your Loving Arms.”

Denise was part of the “ladette culture” in the Nineties as a presenter on the Big Breakfast.

She says: “They were fun times and it felt like I was part of something.

“Our mums had been brought up to expect to get married and take care of a family. There were set routines and dinner was on the table at 6pm when the husband came home.

“Suddenly women were outspoken and gutsy and demanding something different from life.”

Would she go back to those days if she could?

“I sometimes think it would be nice to go back to those times when I had no responsibilities, but then I remember I was pretty much permanently heartbroken,” she says. “I am a lot happier now with my life and Betsy.”

The show has received mixed reviews from critics, but Denise says: “The people I wanted to like it, liked it.”

Denise is particularly looking forward to performing in Southend so she can cram all her family in the theatre.

“The Southend show is going to be a rowdy night!” she laughs. “I love Essex humour and the banter I have when I come home. People just get it."