AMANDA Wright's childhood dream was to become a stripper. As a child she was fascinated by television programmes featuring scantily clad women gyrating suggestively around a nightclub pole or in men's laps.

Amanda just knew that was what she wanted to do. "But I was really worried what my parents would think, so I never said anything," the curvy 20-year-old says now. "I knew I wanted to be a stripper or lap-dancer of some sort." Many women turn their noses up at the profession. But for Amanda it's a dream come true.

And why wouldn't it be for £300-a-night cash in hand? Most of us spend hours slaving away behind desks and still don't earn that much. There's also the buzz of being the centre of attention, having a wardrobe bursting with clothes, and a busy social life.

Amanda says lap-dancing is better than any other job she's had - and there have been a few: Waitressing, working at Chepstow racecourse, cleaning suits in a factory. "I get bored quite easily," Amanda admits.

But lap-dancing has held her attention and she has no desire to quit. Sitting in the lounge of her parents' home in Bulwark, Chepstow, Amanda is every inch the sexy vamp who'd send a man weak at the knees.

Her brown hair is long and sleek, but it's Amanda's dark eyes and ready smile that draw you in.

Blessed with a tiny size six frame, Amanda shows no evidence of the 15 packets of crisps she claims to scoff every day.

"No matter what I eat I always stay at seven and a half stone." She also has the obvious qualities that make her a successful lap-dancer. "I'm a 32DD and they just keep growing! I was actually a late developer, and used to stick toilet tissue down my bra."

Amanda takes her job as seriously as you or I. She has regular sunbed sessions and in-house training to keep her looking good, and never mixes business with pleasure. She said: "The dancing itself keeps you really fit. The pole is hard work, and tones up your arms and tummy."

Amanda didn't enjoy her time at Chepstow Comprehensive. She said: "I was all right up until the third year, and then I started skiving and chopsing the teachers."

She left school at 16 with eight GCSEs, and fell into a rut of dead-end jobs. But her luck changed when she was 18 and moved to Bristol with a friend. Amanda said: "I told my mum I was working in a factory that made tights."

In reality, Amanda had already taken her first step into the world of stripping. She answered an advert for dancers at the famous Spearmint Rhino club, in Birmingham, which has helped launch many careers, including glamour model Jordan's. Amanda was invited for an 'interview' and had to dance to two songs for the manager. "For the first one I wore a black dress and had to use the pole.

"I'd never done it before and was quite nervous - but excited as well. For the second song I had to strip to just my black thong."

Amanda was given the job and used the stage name CJ. She worked three to four nights a week, staying in a bed and breakfast.

She smiles as she remembers her first night. "I felt nervous and had a couple of lagers before going on stage. I didn't really know what to do, so I just copied what I'd seen dancers do on the telly. There's not really an art to it.

"There were lots of men in suits. It was really exciting because I love being the centre of attention and love dancing.

"I'm confident about my body, and I think that helps." During the pole-dance Amanda had to step out of her red dress and keep her thong on. But private dancing is where the real money is made - and for that she had to strip completely.

With a few sofas scattered around an intimate, darkened room, men would readily pay £20 a song for Amanda to dance naked. "You've got to get really close to them. You can touch them but they can't touch you.

"Most men were really nice and good-looking, but it was horrible when they were pervy." But after a few months Amanda moved back to Chepstow and commuted to her new lap-dancing job at Club Creme, in Bristol.

She said: "I was only coming away with £150 a night in Birmingham. They take 35 per cent of every £100 you take, and £20 on top of that." Amanda also confessed to her parents, and was shocked by their reaction. She said: "They were fine about it. I told them how safe it was and how much I earned." Numerous bouncers patrol the club and keep a watchful eye on the private dances, and all girls are escorted from the club to their cars after work in case anyone is hanging around. For the next six months Amanda would arrive at the club at 8.30pm, dress, do her make-up and dance four nights a week. Her main source of income was private dances. She never made less than £300 a night. "I was allowed to keep my thong on this time. I loved it. I felt really comfortable there." What do other people think of her success? "All my mates think it's brilliant, and stick up for me if blokes start asking for their own private lap-dance when I'm out.

"Some men think I'm easy. But that's not true." Other women have also made snide remarks. Amanda said: "There have been times when I'm at the bar and I can hear them talking about me. They say, 'Look, that's the lap-dancer'."

But Amanda has the full support of her engineer boyfriend, Shane. She and the 23-year-old have been together for three months.

She said: "He thinks it's brilliant. He's never come to see me dance because he respects the fact it's my job, and I would never go and see him work."

Some critics have compared lap-dancers to prostitutes. She said: "We're not prostitutes. There are even signs up in these clubs saying so. It's just good fun.

"A lot of people misjudge us, and that makes me so angry. They also think it's just a bunch of pervs who come and see us - which is not true. They're all really rich and wear suits."

Amanda knows she can't lap-dance for ever, but wants to keep going for as long as possible.

She said: "I can do this for the next five years. I haven't really thought about what else I'm going to do."

What if a daughter of hers wanted to follow her footsteps? "I would be fine with it," she said. "I know all that goes on and I know it's safe."