With her Bettie Page fringe, ruby red lips and polka dot corset, Heidi Waddington oozes old-school glamour.

Confident and curvaceous, she teases her whooping audience with a saucy routine blending music hall, cabaret and Carry On-style bawdiness.

By day she’s a busy mum – but when night falls, and the curtain rises, she’s burlesque star Heidi Bang Tidy.

This week Heidi is hosting a variety burlesque show at the New Bradford Playhouse. The line-up comprises Velma Von Bon Bon, Lady Wildflower, Suzie Sequin, Lilly Laudanum, Tricity Vogue, dance trio Damma Goto Helltas and DJ Dapper Dan.

The theme is ‘Spring Fling’ – when I call Heidi she’s busy covering a corset in astro turf.

“As well as burlesque, we’ve got dance acts and a ukelele player. It’s a variety show, with each act lasting six minutes,” she says.

“I love the audience interaction – there’s no other performance like it. Audiences are encouraged to whoop and holler, we get volunteers on stage and give best-dressed prizes. People come along in corsets, it’s a great atmosphere. We’re filming our version of the Harlem Shake on Friday!

“There’s a core of about 40 people at every show, while others are new to burlesque. We’re conscious of that and we make sure they’re comfortable with it.

“Burlesque was born out of parody – originally it poked fun at Royalty and the upper classes – and it’s always been bawdy. My show is rude, but in a British variety, Benny Hill sort of way. It has comedy, music and magicians. Feedback from audiences is great, people say: ‘We didn’t expect to laugh so much’.”

Heidi, 37, says there are two misconceptions about burlesque.

“The first is that it’s like lap-dancing, but it’s very different in terms of performance and audience interaction,” she says. “Burlesque is choreographed to specific music, whereas lap dancers improvise. There’s tipping involved in lap-dancing, but if you tip a burlesque dancer she’d be offended.

“Costuming is a big difference too. Burlesque costumes, with big feather headdresses and rhinestones, can cost hundreds of pounds.”

The second misconception is that burlesque is “posh stripping” but, says Heidi, a burlesque dancer never fully undresses. “Some wear tiny scraps of material, some wear big knickers, and we never expose nipples,” she smiles.

Heidi’s first burlesque show at the Playhouse, complete with a magician and mind reader, was last December, in aid of the Telegraph & Argus’s Secret Santa Appeal. It was packed and a second show in February quickly sold out. Now Heidi has a residency at the historic theatre, with Friday’s show followed by others in July, September, October and December.

“It’s a fantastic venue, so well equipped,” says Heidi. “We’ve got an aerial performer lined up for the next show – we can only do that because of the space available.”

Burlesque became a popular form of musical parody in Victorian music halls. Today’s acts draw on elements of music hall, European cabaret and American vaudeville. Burlesque fell out of vogue after the 1960s, when strip clubs pushed it out of Soho, but it returned in the 1990s and artists such as Dita Von Teese and Immodesty Blaize have raised its profile.

“In our show there are sensual acts, like Dita Von Teese, and fun acts. We mix it up,” says Heidi. “The beauty of burlesque is that it represents different body types. There’s a fabulous performer called Dirty Martini, who’s similar to Dita Von Teese but a size 22.”

Heidi always enjoyed dancing but, at 5ft and size 20, she didn’t consider it as a career. Then she discovered burlesque.

“I’m into the Fifties look and I stumbled across burlesque going to fashion shows and vintage fairs. Then an ex-boyfriend took me to a burlesque show for my birthday and I thought ‘I want to do that’,” says Heidi. “I inherited some money and blew it on a week in Vegas, watching burlesque shows, which inspired me to join a class.

“I’d done a performance arts degree and was marketing and staging live comedy. When I started performing I got great feedback.”

That was two years ago, and today Heidi is one of the country’s hottest burlesque acts. It’s a skill that has boosted her confidence and self-esteem.

“When my marriage broke down my confidence was low, but going to burlesque classes worked wonders,” she says. “Even if you don’t want to perform, it’s great for fitness, posture, confidence – even walking in heels! It’s empowering.”

Now Heidi is starting classes in Bradford, with burlesque dancer Miss Wildflower.

“It’s a beginners’ class for anyone, regardless of age or shape. There’s no stripping, it’s about building confidence and finding your ‘inner vixen’,” says Heidi.

While her alter ego is Heidi Bang Tidy – “an extension of me, without watching what I say” – she also performs as characters including a lollipop lady and a lion tamer. Her idol is Fifties pin-up Bettie Page, and other influences include drag acts.

“I love Danny La Rue and Dame Edna. I buy drag outfits and have them adjusted,” she says. “I love Carry On films and Benny Hill too, and the mime artist Marcel Marceau.”

Most of her stage outfits are made by a costumier, but Heidi also buy items in charity shops, and customises them. “I’m no seamstress, but I’m queen of the glue gun!” she laughs.

With that, she’s off to practise ukelele with eight-year-old daughter Tilly. “She loves my costumes, although I’m careful about how much she sees,” says Heidi.

“Costumes are a big part of burlesque, but it’s about being comfortable with who you are. It’s a bit of fun, allowing audiences to enjoy some good old British rudeness in an ‘ooh, matron’ kind of way.”

Heidi Bang Tidy’s Spring Fling is at the New Bradford Playhouse, Little Germany, on Friday. For tickets ring (01274) 308727. Burlesque classes start at the New Bradford Playhouse on Thursday, May 9. For more details, visit bangtidyburlesque. co.uk.