The morning after the night before, MARION SAUVEBOIS meets Antony Costa, ex-member of Blue

"SORRY darling, I'm really hungover; it was my birthday yesterday," Antony Costa confesses sheepishly.

The singer certainly sounds the worse for wear after a night spent painting the town ruby red.

But like the trooper he plays to sell-out crowds in Save The Last Dance For Me, he soon regroups, apologising for his dithering attention span, his fragile state only betrayed by the contrite way in which he occasionally asks if I can repeat a question. This, followed by more effusive apologies.

Last night's shenanigans whiff of the wild days with his Blue bandmates- at first anyway. Just a few minutes on the line convince me this is not the Antony of the early noughties, a twenty-something riding the wave - or so it seemed through the media lens - chasing a good time with the boys. Although, clearly he still enjoys letting his hair down every now and then.

His mea culpa out of the way, the 35-year-old proceeds to extol the merits of the new revival of the acclaimed musical, in which he takes on the role of Milton, a handsome American stationed at an airbase in Lowestoft.

Post Blue split in 2004, Antony was determined to return to his first love, musicals. But proving his stripes as a bona fide performer to highly sceptical producers and shaking his heartthrob image was an uphill struggle.

Until, he was cast as in Blood Brothers on the West End, and suddenly the wind turned. He was accepted into the inner sanctum as a 'serious' singer and gifted actor.

"Everyone is always sceptical when you come from a pop background. You have to work hard in this industry. You just have to give it 100 per cent so nobody can say that you didn't try. I like to prove people wrong anyway and I did with some of the reviews that I got. It was a great feeling."

"I love being part of a show," he goes on. "People are not there necessarily to see you, they are there to see a show. I love the underdog side of it, having to do your thing week in week out every night. I thrive on that. When the audience stand up at the end and they're dancing and singing there's nothing better than that."

But his newfound status and celebrity cachet have not earned him any special privileges. He doesn't just breeze into rehearsals or get to bypass the gruelling auditions stage. When the call came for Save the Last Dance he still had to show his mettle like the rest of the cast.

"You have to prove yourself," he says matter-of-fact. "I had read the script and sing through a song. And they offered it to me then which was great. I love the show. It's celebrating the work of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman and they wrote songs like A Teenager in Love, Viva Las Vegas."

Set in the swinging 60s, the jukebox musical follows two teenage sisters Jennifer and Marie on their first parent-free holiday by the seaside. Full of freedom and high spirits they meet Milton who invites them to a dance at the local U.S. Air Force base. Romance soon blossoms.

Many have tried and as many have failed putting on a convincing American twang for the part. That's when Antony's natural ability to tweak his own North London lilt came in particularly handy during rehearsals.

"I'm quite blessed with accents," he says without a hint of boasting. "I based him outside of New York, Bronx, he's quite gangsterish but he's a nice guy as well.

"But you can't prepare too much before rehearsals. You have to see where the rehearsals take you where you want to go , find out the back story of the characters."

While Blue reformed in 2013, and have since released new music and resumed touring on and off as a foursome, Antony insists performing with the band is very much a side-line. And, like him, Duncan James, Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe are taken up with their own solo projects. But their bond is as strong as ever, he explains, and every gig with the crew is a rowdy and chummy reunion with his life-long friends.

"We're still very close; we have a few shows this year and we'll see where it takes us. But I just love musical theatre; that's what I want to do for the next 30 years. I think you need to be able to go off and do your thing to find yourself. You're not getting any younger and you need to decide what you need, what you thrive on. And I've found that for sure."

The production runs at the New Theatre Oxford from July 18 to 23. To book call 0844 871 3020 or visit www.atgtickets.com/oxford.