It all started in Oxford for Alison Skilbeck back in her salad days, and now here she is, bringing her own one-woman show to the Burton Taylor Theatre tonight to prove just how far she’s come.

Having starred in films like Phantom Of The Opera, and with TV merits such as Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Dr Who, New Tricks, Law and Order UK and Midsomer Murders, as well as being playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s muse and a director at RADA, she’s a shining example of what you can do when you set your mind to it.

Alison was also responsible for Oxford University relaxing their strict security in the 60s after a particularly nasty accident.

“Well, we weren’t allowed our own keys at night so I was climbing over the railings one evening to get back into Somerville and spiked my hand. All the students were up in arms and we were allowed keys after that,” she remembers.

So were the 60s as liberated as everyone thinks?

“Somerville was an all-female college, and all men had to leave by 10.20pm. But I also remember coming back from a year in France and all my friends were wearing these tiny mini skirts. I was astounded. But within about two minutes I was in one too. So there was a major shift going on,” she giggles.

Alison’s work is still groundbreaking. She sits on the RADA admissions panel ascertaining whether each and every wannabe is good enough to get into RADA, where she’s a director and teacher.

“We see about 3,000 hopefuls auditioning every year, and take just 28,” she tells me. “And yes, you can usually tell when they are brilliant and when they should be doing something else. It’s the slow burners we worry about missing. There has been a rise in numbers recently though thanks to all the reality talent shows. But sometimes I think the students just want fame without having to do any work. They want their name in lights but in this business you need, luck, drive and stamina.”

Alison got the acting bug during her time in Oxford in 1964-68, after joining the Oxford University Drama Society (OUDS) along with the likes of Diana Quick and David Wood. “I was in everything from King Lear to the Summer Revue and Romeo and Juliet.”

Are There More Of You? is a big departure for her and, having tested it at Edinburgh to resounding success, Oxford is next up.

“I hoped I might die from nerves in the beginning, because if I did I wouldn’t have had to go on,” she laughs.

“Stage fright gets worse rather than better as the years go by because you know all the things that can go wrong. Plus, with a one-woman show, it’s all your responsibility. But it seems to be working. The audience roared with laughter the whole way through in Brighton, while in Guildford it was deathly quiet, and yet they all came to find me in the bar afterwards to ask lots of questions.”

And while Are There More Of You?, in which Alison plays four woman whose lives all collide, does appeal to women of a certain age, it has a universal appeal.

“I’m happy being up on stage again and would happily die doing this,” Alison agrees.

* Alison Skilbeck brings her one-woman show to Oxford’s Burton Taylor Theatre tonight. Call the ticket office on 01865 305305 or book online by visiting oxfordplayhouse.com