SHE made her name playing characters like Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and Elphaba in Wicked, and Kerry Ellis’s rise to stardom itself is the stuff of fairytales.

Straight out of college after dreaming of a life onstage since she was small, Kerry was picked to understudy West End legend Marti Webb on a cruise and tour.

That break led to her landing the role of second understudy to Eliza Doolittle in Cameron Mackintosh’s much-hyped revival of My Fair Lady.

With a first understudy in place in case star Martine McCutcheon fell ill, it seemed unlikely she’d step out in the role until the show had finished its three-month run at the National Theatre and it transferred to a longer run on Drury Lane.

But when both Martine and her understudy were struck down with illness during the show’s early run, Kerry was thrust into the limilight in her first major role, opposite Dennis Waterman and Jonathan Pryce, with just a few hours to prepare.

“I was on a lot earlier than expected,” admits Kerry, who comes to the Cliffs Pavilion this Sunday to sing in a 20th anniversary concert version of musical Rent.

“But it was great as well. I didn’t really have time to think about it, and I was very young – I was only 19. I don’t think I had time to process the scale of what I was doing. I’d probably freak out more now than I did then. I just took it as an opportunity and sucked up the experience.”

It was a role that was to start another working relationship that would boost Kerry’s career, both on the West End stage and as a recording artist. Queen guitarist Brian May saw her, both in the ensemble and as Eliza, and scouted her for his new jukebox musical – We Will Rock You, where she created the role of Meat.

The pair clicked creatively, and once her run in the show finished, Brian asked her if she’d like to collaborate musically.

“It was pretty crazy,” says Kerry. “Brian came to see My Fair Lady. “I wasn’t even on for the lead, he saw me in the ensemble, but he came back and saw me play Eliza later and asked me to audition for We Will Rock You.

“I took a lot of it in my stride. I was so young and it just seemed like this was an amazing opportunity and I just needed to go with it. It just went from there.”

Despite Brian’s fame, Kerry says it’s easy to forget about that now the pair have been friends for over a decade, recording and touring an album, Anthem, and due to release a softer, acoustic follow-up this year.

“I do pinch myself that it is Brian May,” she admits. “But he’s also a dear friend of mine. We’ve been working together for eleven years and we just get on really well together.

“We come from such different worlds and we both have something to bring to the table that’s very different and, in the clash of those two worlds, we make something really exciting.”

The Rent 20th anniversary concert which comes to the Cliffs Pavilion on Sunday sees Kerry singing opposite runner-up in ITV’s Superstar, Rory Taylor. It is at the venue, in Station Road, Westcliff, from 8pm. Tickets are £22.50-£28.50. Call 01702 351135.