As Kennedy prepares for her production of Highland Heartbeat to open at the Eden Court theatre in Inverness, at the end of this month, followed by her two-month American tour, she feels reluctant to leave the house for so long.

“It’s such a beautiful home and such an inspiring place to live,” she says. “When I lived in London for seven years, I was just desperate to get back to the countryside. I find this is where I get the best ideas for the lyrics for my music and the ideas for the production.”

Highland Heartbeat has already won over Scottish sponsors and has the support of Brian Cox, who is a narrator on its forthcoming trailer on the American Public Broadcasting Service network. Sean Connery, too, is a fan. The show is a Scottish concept production; a Riverdance-type extravaganza of Scottish culture.

Kennedy is keen that no parallels be drawn with the the television show Britain’s Got Talent — though she says that if she had the chance to add Susan Boyle to her team, she would “take her in a heartbeat”.

Kennedy and Morven came up with the Heartbeat idea two years ago after Kennedy had been presenting Tartan TV, an American television magazine show on Scottish culture. “I thought there was a real market for something specifically Scottish that combined the songs of the old days with some lighter, fresher more contemporary music,” she says.

There were auditions all over Scotland to find singers and performers who represented Scottish culture in a modern and dynamic way. A cast of five performers was selected. The three female and two male singers come from all parts of the country, including Skye and Shetland.

Chosen for their singing talent, the performers look pretty spectacular too — one of the men, Ross Davidson, from Aberdeen, models for Armani, while the Bishopbriggs singer Frances McCann sounds like Whitney Houston and looks more stunning than Vanessa-Mae.

Kennedy is taking the production to the America in September and will tour coast to coast, from New York to Miami and Tampa. Next year the show reaches Canada.

When Kennedy is not away treading the boards, another favourite retreat is nearby Cruden Bay, where the family have a holiday cottage.

“Walking along the beach at Cruden is one of my favourite places in the world,” she says. “I think Scotland just has so much to offer, especially this area. It’s the promised land up here.”

Highland Heartbeat is at the Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, from July 28 to August 1

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