And as Debbie discusses her adaptation of the play Accidental Death of an Anarchist, soon to open in Halifax, her rapid gestures and blazing eyes would not look out of place in a Coronation Street cliff-hanger, the show she starred in as beer-loving Angie Freeman in the early 1990s.

The play, written by Italian Dario Fo in 1970, tells the true story of an anarchist who died in custody in Italy after falling from a fourth-floor window and the corruption and inept police cover-ups that followed.

For the performace at the Viaduct Theatre, Dean Clough, Debbie, has adapted the setting to a northern town and clipped Fo's Italian prose to a Yorkshire twang.

"The more we compared modern Britain with the play, the more parallels there seemed to be", she said.

"We have CCTV cameras and ID cards rather than fascist spies but high-profile people are still abusing power and making monumental mistakes.

"Much of the play is about how the government and their agents respond to a threat of terror and how it can push society to breaking point and beyond."

It is this sense of mission, that has seen Debbie carve out a succesful career for herself as a playwright since finishing with the show in 1996 after a brief return.

But despite remembering Corrie with fondness, she says she is enjoying life on the stage so much there's no chance of a Rovers return, for now at least.

"It was a series of accidents how I ended up on the programme really", says Debbie, 40, whose student character Angie is remembered as the first women on the show to drink pints in the pub. "It is a great show and I have a great affection for it but I'm a very private person and never liked the fame, people stopping you in the street and things like that.

"I was a bit of a square peg in a round hole. The stage has always been my passion."

In her role of writing, and with husband Conrad Nelson directing, Debbie is very much behind the scenes and prefers it that way.

"I still get the impression people recognise me when I am out and about", she said. "But I get the feeling they don't know from where."

When asked, Debbie claims her principles were shaped growing up in Leeds in Margaret Thatcher's era: "It was a bit rubbish really and taught me not to be too idealistic", she said.

"I don't think a revolution will come. I see it more as we are in a sinking boat and just need to keep bailing as best we can. But if you stop and lose your bottle then the boat sinks very quickly."

She suddenly stops talking politics and glances at her watch before saying she has to rush off back to the Midlands to pick her seven-year-old daughter up from school.

As she runs out the door of Dean Clough, looking barely changed from the character who charmed the nation's screens 15 years ago, you get the impression Debbie will keep bailing for some years yet.

The play will be on at the Viaduct Theatre from Wednesday September 24 to 27, then on tour.