THE MOUSETRAP is set to snap into action in Glasgow, the long-awaited west end thriller will delight and stun.

But an added delight in the appearance of the play, which has been running in London since 1952, is the casting of Susan Penhaligon.

The actor became a leading in television dramas during the seventies and eighties, starring in the likes of Bouquet of Barbed Wire and A Fine Romance.

More recently, she has appeared in Emmerdale.

Righ now, however, Penhaligon admits she’s captured by Agatha Christie’s thriller, a tale of deceit and deception.

“I never thought I’d be in The Mousetrap,” she admits.

“ I’ve been in two of Agatha Christie’s other plays And Then There Were None and a little known one called Verdict but I’d never seen The Mousetrap or read it.

“When the part came up, I read the play and I thought ‘Wow’, it’s funny, tense, has great characters, brilliant plot, and what struck me was that it was based on a real event – chilling really.”

The actor adds; “Agatha Christie is so clever, there’s always truthful emotion in her plays. She’s the second most-read English writer after Shakespeare so she must have done something right.”

Susan Penhaligon loves her character, Mrs Boyle. “She says it as it is, she doesn’t hold back. She’s the type of woman who is used to being in control of situations. Probably to make herself feel safe.”

She smiles; “I don’t think she feels safe in The Mousetrap however.”

The actor had never planned for a long-running stint on television.

“For some reason all through the seventies and eighties I seemed to land lots of TV and film roles. I just went with the flow. But I always tried to do a play once a year if I could.”

She grins; “You have to keep practising to get good at anything.”

The Mousetrap, The Theatre Royal, until Saturday.