Icon Barbra Streisand still gets PARALYSED by stage fright, says Adam Helliker

She claims she cannot sing or utter a single word unless she first swallows the prescription beta-blocker Inderal, known as propranolol in the UK. She said: “I got a little pill called Inderal, 10 milligrams. It takes away the pounding because when you have a pounding heart, you can’t sing. It affects your vocals.”

Streisand, whose hit movies include The Way We Were and A Star Is Born, admits she has suffered from “debilitating” nerves throughout her career, adding: “Once I went absolutely blank. I forgot the words in the middle of one of my songs.

“It was such a traumatic moment in front of so many people and I still have that fear today that it could happen again,” she said in a US interview.

Her stage fright became so overwhelming, she said, that: “I never performed for 27 years unless it was for a political event or fundraiser. The introduction of tele-prompters helped me and I did a lot of motivational work on myself.”

Streisand revealed, however, that the main inspiration behind her comeback – she launched a limited concert tour last year and had performances in Canada last Friday and yesterday – was fellow singing sensation Liza Minnelli, 72. 

They rekindled their friendship at a party and Streisand was “stunned” when her contemporary suddenly decided to entertain fellow guests.

She said: “What brought me back was when I saw Liza sing in someone’s living room.

"I thought, ‘My God, look how she gets up and sings in front of these people with the lights on’. I have to have blackness when I sing or I just feel very uncomfortable performing live.

“Watching Liza that night helped put me at ease. I remember when I went blank I wasn’t charming or cute about it. But seeing Liza that night has helped me feel much more at ease.”

Now Streisand is planning to cement the comeback – which began last year when she did two concerts in New York – with high-profi le projects including a possible new album and a television sitcom called The Politician, in which she will reportedly co-star opposite Gwyneth Paltrow.

She has also “not ruled out” the possibility of further performances but insisted: “I still have to take my medication to really quell my nerves. “It gets harder as you get older but I’m as determined as ever not to let down my fans."

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More dogs and kids in theatre!

They say never work with children or animals but former Great British Bake Off star Mel Giedroyc wants more dogs and babies in theatreland.

The mother of two, who on Friday started a run starring in Much Ado About Nothing, at the Rose Theatre in Kingston Upon Thames, tells me: “I am sharing with this lovely girl who has her dog in the dressing room. Every dressing room should have a dog! Bring the animals in, bring the kids in, why not? It would be great in theatre if there could be crêches. It makes so much sense.”

Mel, 49, will also appear in the highly anticipated new production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Tony award-winning musical Company, at the Gielgud Theatre in September.

She admits she asked for the blessing of her telly co-host Sue Perkins, 48, with whom she recently revived (very briefly) the BBC game show The Generation Game, before signing up for so much stage work.

“I had to discuss it with Sue, my presenting partner. She was brilliant, she said, ‘Look, you love being on stage, you have always loved it and you will never get the chance to do something like this again, so do it’. So she was very behind that decision but I had to talk to her about it.”

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Amanda the bear

Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden will stop at nothing to make her husband happy... even if it means dressing up as a furry mammal. The glamorous star reveals she once disguised herself as Paddington Bear to impress him.

Amanda, 47, who joined fellow judges Simon Cowell, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon for the first episode of ITV’s new BGT series last night, has been married to Chris Hughes since 2008 and the magic is clearly still strong.

She said: “One of the weirdest things I’ve ever done was when my husband confessed to me years ago that he wanted to meet Paddington Bear. This was before the movies came out.

"So, on his birthday I hired a Paddington Bear costume, went out of the house and came back in. I burst through the door and danced to the gay anthem YMCA. He had no idea who I was! That was the most surreal thing I have ever done.”

Amanda, whose age-defying looks are a source of inspiration for many, has also revealed her diet secret. Speaking about one particularly wild moment from the latest BGT series, she said: “A cheese board came out! I ate a piece of cheese. I mean, that’s shocking in itself! I only ever eat avocado and spinach.”

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Phones are breaking bad for Bryan Cranston

We’ve all been there. You’re engrossed in a gripping theatrical performance when a phone starts ringing, annihilating the ambience. Thankfully, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston is putting a stop to that at his shows.

The actor has revealed he won’t start the show until theatregoers turn their mobiles off. Bryan, 62, won the best actor gong at the Olivier Awards last weekend for his role in Network at the National Theatre.

He says: “When I go out on stage and I see all the glows from the phones, I wait and I wait and then they turn them off,” he says. And he has a word of advice for those of us who are constantly glued to our mobile devices.

“You have to know when these things are using you, and you have to know when to shut it down so it doesn’t become a problem in your life.”

He adds: “It’s purposefully addictive, so we have to be really vigilant to push against that. Being overwhelmed with information doesn’t make us wiser. I think it makes you dumber.” Bravo!

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Les Mis — nothing without the music!

Theatre producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh clearly hasn’t got much confidence in the BBC’s forthcoming production of Les Misérables.

The Beeb’s version will not be a musical – something that has displeased the producer of hit shows including not only Les Mis but also Cats, The Phantom Of The Opera and Miss Saigon.

“I’ll miss the tunes and I suspect the audience will too,” said Sir Cameron, 71. "There are 35 different movies made already of Les Mis and only one of them has the music of the great Claude-Michel Schönberg and that’s what makes Les Mis special.”

Dominic West, Lily Collins and David Oyelowo will star in the six-part TV adaptation of Victor Hugo’s original novel.