Freddie Flintoff: I can’t really sing, dance or act. . . (the star talks about bringing Fat Friends to Birmingham’s New Alexandra Theatre)

He’s as pleasant in person as he is on the TV and radio. Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff is generous with his time and honest when he answers our questions. During our interview, there’s no edge and no carefully guarded secrets. He doesn’t offer bland, talk-a-lot-but-say-nothing froth. Instead, he presents himself as a rock solid bloke, a man’s man who is likeable and engaging.

We throw the kitchen sink at him – The Ashes, pedalos, being a rubbish captain, mental health issues and gawd knows what else. And he isn’t for a moment evasive. He doesn’t bob and weave; he just stands stock straight as he did when squaring up to the likes of Glenn McGrath and transforming himself into a Boy’s Own Hero.

We start with the project he’s expected to promote: Fat Friends.

Improbably, the man who once wielded willow against all-comers is part of an all-star cast in Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends – The Musical. Freddie is playing Kevin Chadwick opposite the previously announced, Jodie Prenger as his fiancée, Kelly.

The man who won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 2005 after playing a pivotal role in regaining the Ashes from Australia and who became a team captain on Sky’s League of Their Own is affirming his acting credentials after bowling over the show’s creator, Kay Mellor and composer Nicholas Lloyd Webber during auditions.

He said: “Having had the pleasure of recently working on an episode of Kay’s latest TV series, it’s great to have the opportunity to work with her again. I loved the TV series and think Fat Friends – The Musical, is going to give people a great night out. I’m really looking forward to it.”

The award winning TV drama has been adapted for the stage by its creator and one of the UK’s most prolific writers, Kay Mellor, whose extensive television credits include hit series of Band of Gold, The Chase, The Syndicate, In the Club and whose stage credits include A Passionate Woman. Freddie joins the award winning Jodie Prenger and X-Factor winner Sam Bailey with further casting to be announced.

Produced by Joshua Andrews and Adam Spiegel, with original music and songs composed by Nicholas Lloyd Webber, Fat Friends – The Musical sees the nation’s favourite group of dieters reunited as this new show bursts on to the stage.

Freddie says: “I’ve done a bit of drama and I was asked if I’d be interested in musical drama I was more in awe of it than anything else. I was asked if I’d go for it and I said yes and I remember going to bed thinking ‘what have I done?’ I never thought I’d be in the position to do it. I ended up auditioning for Nick Lloyd Webber. But I did 40 dates on the stand-up tour when I did my talking show. I quite enjoy it all.

“I think the main thing about being in front of a crowd is that you know where you are with it. When we do League Of Their Own for Sky it’s in front of a crowd of 600. I like being in front of an audience but I hate being in crowds; it makes me anxious. Being in front of a crowd, it’s fine. The good thing about this is that I’m working with so many good people. You look at the cast and they’re amazing. They really help me to be honest. I was nervous at first going in to their world with no background or schooling but they couldn’t have been better.”

Freddie’s taken it all very seriously. And he’s also learned about the things that he’s not able to do – more so than the things that he’s able to do. For instance, on his stand-up tour, he’d regularly go off-piste and come up with new material off the cuff. Initially, he’d hoped he’d be able to do the same with Fat Friends, but it was soon drummed into him that that wouldn’t really work.

“On the stand up thing we could go off on one and the show could change quite a lot. We’d be learning how to gauge an audience. Some would like a bit of fruity language and some wouldn’t. But you can’t do that with this.

“The thing is, if I can’t sing, if I can’t dance and if I can’t act there’s one thing I can do – and that’s learn my lines. So I learned the lines pretty quickly and by the time I went to rehearsals I pretty much knew them. I had to learn other stuff that’s more important. Then we did the rehearsals. It’s not so bad learning where to stand. If you’re standing somewhere and the light’s not on you, you soon know you’re in the wrong place.”

Though Freddie has spent all of his adult life on the road – mostly playing in packed cricket stadia around the world – he’s found unexpected challenges while touring in theatres.

“It’s very different. When I’m on stage, if I get a laugh I want to follow it up by making something up – but I realise I can’t. And then I’ve found the world of theatre is very different to the world of sport or the world of Sky. When you’re with cricket or Sky, everything’s sorted. They pick you up and feed you: but they don’t do that in theatre. I remember phoning up asking for the hotel before we were due to start and they turned it round and asked me where I’d booked. I didn’t realise it would be up to me to do that. And then when you get to your dressing room you find there’s nowt in it – not even a packet of Haribos. It’s a different world but because of that everyone mucks in together. I’ll tell you something though, I’ve been in the worst dressing rooms of my life during the past few months.”

Having laughed at Freddie’s depiction of Haribo-free, sweat-stained, unhygienic dressing rooms with no bottled water or fresh fruit, we move on.

As a cricketer, the only thing Freddie ever wanted to do was play for Lancashire and England. He didn’t want to become the biggest English cricketing star since Sir Ian Botham. He had no thoughts of winning the Ashes for England on home soil or of becoming some sort of superhero figure. He just wanted to bowl fast and bat quickly for club and country.

“I finished at 31, which was too soon. I was left wondering what to do. I fell into TV work with A League of Their Own. Working with Jack Whitehall, John Bishop and James Corden – but not so much Jamie Redknapp – has opened my eyes to what else is out there. I’ve worked with some of the best comedians and I see what Jack does, which is fascinating. For a young lad who’s posh, he’s also fearless. And that’s how I am; that’s how I think. If he wants to have a go, he does. The thing I realised a long time ago is that if you fail, it doesn’t matter. You just have another go.”

He misses cricket. Becoming an all-round entertainer hasn’t sated his desire to pull on his whites and take the field. Given the choice between getting a laugh from a crowd of 1,500 or playing in front of one man and a dog on a windswept field, he knows where he’d rather be. But his body long since gave up the ghost and these days Freddie’s only opportunities to play are with his two boys.

“I’d chop your arm off to play cricket. But I’m 40 and I realise my time has gone. Not that that stops me from watching and wanting to play. The hardest part is that my head is still there – it’s just that I can’t do it any more through age and injury and a whole host of things. But I suppose I’ve become a cricket fan again, I enjoy working with my two boys. Further down the line I’d like to coach.”

He doesn’t rate himself highly as a captain. “I was a shocking. The best I played under was Michael Vaughan. I don’t think it was any coincidence that my best years were under him. He let me express myself. I loved playing under John Crawley too, at Lancashire. He was a great bloke, a good friend and a solid man.”

The memories of 2005 live strong for him. Not a day passes when he doesn’t reflect on winning the Ashes or when he doesn’t get asked about it by a fan, a journalist, a colleague or a fellow ex-pro.

“The abiding memory for me was disappointment when it all finished. Because when it was happening, it was amazing. As someone who always wanted to be a cricketer, it was the biggest thrill of my life. Winning was amazing but the overriding factor was when it came to an end and I was left thinking ‘What am I going to do next week?’

“I didn’t want it to stop. Full houses, the excitement, it was on TV with an audience of millions….. We were part of that. And as amazing as it was to win and be on the podium, once the hangover had worn off, there was a major comedown. I wanted to do it again. But we want to Pakistan and got beaten by Pakistan.

“It’s strange, we were offered all sorts of awards and this that and the other. But the real reward was playing. I suppose that’s the same with everything. Doing the stage show now, the best part is when it’s happening, not when we’re getting a round of applause.”

His post-cricket career hasn’t just been about punditry, of course. As well as entertaining and offering opinions he’s also done truly brilliant work as the presenter of a programme on mental health and the way it affects sportspeople.

“I’ve lived with depression; it happens. But being able to speak about things is good. I did the documentary for the BBC and I never expected to give as much away as I did but it was quite liberating. Now I think that by speaking out people feel they can do the same. But I wouldn’t underestimate how much better it made me feel too.”

His boxing career was short-lived. He took one bout and decided to call it a day after winning in front of 10,000 fans in Manchester. He hadn’t intended to take up the noble art. Instead, he’d planned to wrestle. “I went to wrestling school in Tampa and broke two ribs. They offered me a contract but I ended up meeting Barry McGuigan and started boxing. It was fun and it was perfect timing.

“It helped me re-evaluate a few things. I enjoyed the training but I didn’t like sparring and I didn’t do myself justice in the fight. It was exciting. There was 10,000 people in the Manchester Arena and maybe the occasion got the better of me and adrenalin took over. But having someone try to hit you in the face wasn’t as hard as playing cricket. By the end, my knees, my ankles, they all went. That hurt more than boxing. I was having injections just to get through it. It couldn’t go on.”

The transition from sportsman to civvy street was tough. The desire to compete remained strong but Freddie no longer had the ability to cut it. He had to find different ways to make a living and a different way to get the high that sport had given him. “I went to Dubai for a couple of years. But hey, I’m not complaining. I realised it was my life that had changed, not everybody else’s. And I’ve been lucky that I’ve got jobs and I’m building this other career, which is fantastic. I look at other people who’ve finished playing and I’m in a good position. A lot of my peers aren’t in this position so I’m grateful.”

He loves doing his podcast with Robbie Savage and Matthew Syed, which has won awards and focuses on a range of sporting topics. “Sav’s amazing and I love him to pieces. He’s such a good man. That’s been a success we never expected. With Matthew, as well, we all do it because we like it. I haven’t had to do anything I haven’t liked since I stopped playing and I don’t get too much grief from the public.

“The thing I’ve learned is that you’ve just got to be yourself. That’s what I’ve always done.”

And it’s the reason why the public still loves him.

• Fat Friends is on at Bimringham’s New Alexandra Theatre from Tuesday to Saturday. Call the box office on 0844 871 3011 for tickets costing from £16.50.