Jodie Prenger won plaudits for playing tragic, lovelorn Nancy in the West End revival of the musical Oliver! – but behind the scenes, her own romantic life was just as troubled.

While her career was blossoming – she was the public’s choice for the role on BBC1’s talent show I’d Do Anything – she suffered the indignity of two ex-boyfriends reportedly selling their stories to newspapers.

“I didn’t need to do any research to play Nancy,” she says. “I’m a real Mills and Boon romantic girl who believes in love, but even I was starting to give up.”

But, just as she transformed herself physically by losing half her body weight four years ago, going from 18st to nine and winning The Biggest Loser on Living TV, the bubbly Blackpool girl has also turned things around in her personal life.

“I don’t want to say too much and jinx things,” she says, but with her typical honesty she then proceeds to coo over her boyfriend’s qualities. “I’ve known him as a friend for a long while and we started dating about six months ago. He’s wonderful, sensitive and it just hits you like a ton of bricks when you meet someone who ticks all the right boxes.

“My nan always says, ‘people come into your life for a reason, a season, or for a lifetime’, but we’ll see.”

Professionally, things are going well for Jodie, too. She’s currently playing the Lady of the Lake in the Monty Python musical Spamalot, which comes to Bradford this spring.

Co-starring Phill Jupitus and Todd Carty, the hit show tells the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and features a score of comic songs including Find Your Grail and national favourite, Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.

Next year, Jodie is in a BBC comedy drama, Candy Cabs, about an all-female cab company.

“I never thought any of this would happen to me and sometimes I still can’t believe it,” she says. “I’ve truly fulfilled my dreams, which sounds so soppy but it’s true.

“My mantra has always been, ‘keep going no matter what, and when you feel at your weakest it’s the time to be at your strongest’, and I think that’s stood me in good stead.”

Jodie, 31, says she was a chubby child who was picked on at school because of her appearance and had “self-esteem problems”.

Undaunted, she worked the club and cabaret circuit in her teens and clung to her dream – a singing role in a West End theatre.

After a series of knockbacks at auditions, she was back to singing in clubs and bars until her mother persuaded her to enter I’d Do Anything, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for a star for his revival of Oliver!

The public took Jodie to their hearts and voted her the winner. She won critical acclaim in Oliver!, recently returning for guest appearances.

She has her tough professionalism, talent and refusal to be ‘starry’ to thank for her success.

“My mum would whack me round the head if I got starry,” she says. “I don’t think there’s much danger of it. I still shop at Asda and Dorothy Perkins. There’s nothing like a bargain.”

The other passion in her life is animals. Brought up in an animal-loving family – the current menagerie includes parrots, budgies, tortoises, rabbits, chickens, fish and dogs – she has her own pet, a Yorkshire terrier puppy called Hogan.

“He’s a real diva,” she says. “I’m a bit protective of him, but he’s not a surrogate baby or anything. I believe in treating animals like animals, so he’s trained and can do all sorts of tricks.”

Fortunately, her new boyfriend passed the animal test. “I can’t like someone who doesn’t like dogs or cats,” she says.

She’s moving from London to be back near her parents because her brother’s just gone travelling. “I’d like to be near them for a while. They’ve always been there for me, and now it’s my turn,” she says.

She quotes ‘work like you don’t need money, love like your heart has never been broken, and dance like no-one’s watching’.

“That’s so true,” she says. “I think if you remember the value of the real things in life like friends and family, you won’t go far wrong.”

Spamalot runs at the Alhambra from March 14 to 19. For tickets, ring (01274) 432000.