CLAIRE Sweeney may be taking the role of hairdresser Paulette in the musical Legally Blonde – but don’t trust her with a pair of scissors near your locks.

“Paulette is a hairdresser, but luckily I don’t have to do any hairdressing on stage,” she laughs. “That would be a disaster.”

Paulette is the best friend of Elle, college sweetheart-turned-legal eagle who is at the centre of Legally Blonde. Dumped by her boyfriend Warner for being too dumb when he heads off to Harvard Law School, Elle decides there is only one way to win him back – to join him in class.

But faced with the snobbery of a law school, pink-wearing, fashion-loving Elle feels totally at sea – her one friend and ally being Paulette.

It is a role made in heaven for Claire, who is best known for playing Lindsey Corkhill in Brookside for six years and who recently appeared in the TV comedy drama Candy Cabs.

“I had never seen the film Legally Blonde and didn’t really know what to expect when I went to see the show,” she says. “I actually thought I would hate it. I thought it would be all pink and silly. But actually it has a real moral message to it.

“When I saw the role of Paulette I said ‘I want to play that part’. It looked like such fun. I didn’t do anything about that though so when they rang me about playing the part I was really pleased.”