The acclaimed actress made her stage debut as a baby and hasn’t looked back. Liza has been a fixture on our screens for decades, from her breakthrough in BBC series Take Three Girls, through children’s TV favourite Woof!, to hit shows including Bergerac and Doctor Who.

But her first love, she says, has always been the stage, so she’s delighted to be returning to it for her latest role, in Original Theatre’s acclaimed production of atmospheric thriller The Croft.

“The concept of the play is really interesting,” she explains. “It’s set in the Highlands, and I play a former inhabitant of a croft, who reveals her story to the modern-day visitors. I love the idea of it being a ghost story.”

The production, which also stars Caroline Harker (A Touch of Frost) and Gray O’Brien (Coronation Street), will be visiting venues across the country, including a stint at the Rep .
Goddard says the setting of the play feels close to home. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the Highlands. We have relatives who live in the Trossachs, and I absolutely adore it. I’d love to have my own little croft. I just hope they don’t burn me at the stake for my Scottish accent.”

Goddard is no stranger to life on the road, having appeared in countless travelling productions including the recent hit revival of Michael Frayn’s farce Noises Off. “The nice thing about touring is that you get to see so many different cities. I probably know this country better than anyone thanks to my work.”

Like many actors, her first theatre credits were in regional rep. She even appeared as a baby on stage at the Aldershot Repertory Theatre, where her father David Goddard worked before moving to the BBC to become a producer. “They used to hang my Moses basket on the pegs backstage,” she says. “I’ve loved theatres ever since.”

She got her first taste of stardom shortly afterwards, when she appeared in a TV show which her father was working on called Jesus of Nazareth, aged just six. But her big break came after the family relocated to Australia, when she was cast to play Clancy Merrick in Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, which became “a huge international hit”.

After returning to the UK in the late 60s, “with the aim of earning enough money to get back to Australia”, she soon got cast in Take Three Girls, which was the first drama series to be broadcast in colour. More roles soon followed, including in The Brothers, in which she appeared alongside Colin Baker, who became her first husband. Future co-stars would include luminaries such as Ben Kingsley and Richard Burton.

“I’ve worked with some amazing actors,” she says, “and I’ve also had some fantastic collaborators on stage. I’ve worked a lot with the playwright Alan Ayckbourn, and later this year will be returning to his theatre in Scarborough, my spiritual home, for his 96th play.”

When she’s away from the stage she enjoys relaxing at home in Norfolk. “I live in a village that has lots of activities to keep me busy such as keep fit classes and OAP lunches. I find village life very entertaining. I also walk for miles with the dog. I love dogs – when I was in Woof! I had nine of them, because people kept giving me strays.”

But despite enjoying her down time she says the lure of the footlights remains as strong as ever. “Acting is the only thing I know how to do, and it’s quite addictive really. I don’t think there’s anything better than live performance, with everyone experiencing the same thing together. And that’s especially true in this age of AI, when you can’t really trust what you’re watching on screen.”

Based on a true story, and set in the real-life former settlement of Coillie Ghille, The Croft was first seen in 2020, and found a wider audience when it was broadcast during the pandemic. It explores a range of issues from the paranormal through to generational trauma and the nature of relationships.

Ali Milles’s writing is reminiscent of the work of Conor McPherson, particularly his perennially popular play The Weir. “It really resonates with me,” says Goddard. “I live in an old house, and you’re fully aware of the events that have happened there before – it’s almost seeped into the stones.”

Producers Original Theatre are marking their 20th anniversary this year, and Goddard says she was impressed by seeing their landmark production of Birdsong recently, at Alexandra Palace. “It was absolutely wonderful, and very timely with its theme of the futility of war. The production values were fantastic, as was the ensemble.”

She adds that it was especially poignant to be back at the venue where her father used to work in his BBC days. The tour of The Croft will also take her to some familiar places. “I’ve probably played Malvern every year for the past 30 years,” she says. “And the Yvonne Arnaud is somewhere I’ve performed since childhood, as I used to live in Farnham.”