SHE has the looks of a screen goddess and the voice of a cartoon chipmunk. So when silent movies make way for talkies, poor Lina Lamont finds her career in tatters.

Lina is the “uniquely-voiced” silent film star who lights up the big screen with her co-star Don Lockwood, the charismatic leading man of popular musical Singin’ in the Rain.

Set against a 1920s film studio struggling to make the transition from silent films to talkies, the show is a glorious blend of comedy, romance and some of the best-loved musical numbers of all time.

This spectacular new production, featuring a nightly rainfall of 12,000 litres of water on stage, has come to Bradford following a smash hit West End run.

“It’s exactly the same show as it was in the West End,” said Vicky Binns, who plays Lina Lamont. “I saw it there, and it was so spectacular. It was great to see it from the audience, as we can’t really appreciate the set properly when we’re on stage.

“I’ve never done anything on this scale before. The only theatre I’ve done is small plays where there’s just a few of us on stage and you bring your own wig.”

Best known as Molly Dobbs in Coronation Street, Vicky is relishing her role as vain Lina. “She’s a silent movie goddess, she’s put on a pedestal and she totally believes the hype,” says Vicky, 33. “Famous people are so exposed now – we’re used to seeing pictures of them coming out of the supermarket, like normal human beings – but back in the silent film era they were gods. People went to the cinema for escapism, and the stars of the screen were glamorous and very far removed from ordinary life.

“When audiences hear Lina’s voice for the first time they laugh. And she’s not used to ridicule.”

She may be a shallow, comic character, but Vicky says Lina “has to be watchable”.

“There’s something about her that makes you care a little,” says Vicky. “It’s fantastic playing the rise and fall of a screen goddess. I’d not had much to do with musical theatre. When my agent rang to say I’d got the part I thought he’d meant to call someone else. When I finally watched the film I loved it. There are such iconic scenes – even if you don’t know the story you know the song and dance numbers. Gene Kelly set the bar high.”

Born in Bury, Vicky started acting as a child, appearing in TV drama Children’s Ward. She went on to play feisty youngster Ollie Reynolds in Emmerdale for four years, and in 2005 she joined Coronation Street as Molly, who married Tyrone and broke his heart when he learned their baby was the result of her affair with Kevin Webster.

Vicky left Corrie in December, 2010 when the soap celebrated its 50th anniversary with a live episode. Viewers saw Molly crushed in the dramatic tram crash, and later dying of her injuries, comforted by her ex-lover’s wife.

“It was fantastic being part of the live episode, I couldn’t have asked for a better exit,” smiles Vicky. “I left on a high but I remember thinking “What next?”

Vicky’s other TV roles have included comedy drama Von Trapped opposite Caroline Quentin and, more recently, Channel 4 period drama The Mill, playing a Victorian mill girl.

“The make-up girls combed moisturiser through our hair to make it look greasy, and put dirt in our fingernails,” says Molly. “It was as far from the glamour of Lina as you could get!”

Singin’ in the Rain runs at the Alhambra until tomorrow. For tickets, call (01274) 432000.