I’d Do Anything contestant, Rachel Tucker made her West End debut last night in Ben Elton musical, ‘We Will Rock You’.

Rachel expressed her gratitude to the BBC show which gave her the perfect springboard into the career she had always wanted.

Tucker told ITN: “It’s my first role in the West End, live in front of thousands of people, and I must say, I’m absolutely petrified. It’s very different to what I’ve done before. Read more & comment »

I’d Do Anything star Samantha Barks has managed to land the lead role in the UK tour of Cabaret.

The 17-year-old, who finished in third place on the BBC reality TV show earlier this year, will play cabaret performer Sally Bowles in the popular musical.

Barks will appear alongside dancer and former I’m A Celebrity contestant, Wayne Sleep, who is taking on the role of the Emcee.

Earlier this month we reported that Rachel Tucker, who finished in fourth place had landed the lead role in Ben Elton’s West End show, We Will Rock You.

The search for Oliver and Nancy starts on BBC One this Saturday night and the shows host Graham Norton is promising fabulous things for this series!

“Every returning series says it’s bigger and better than the last but this truly is,” Graham told The Sun.

“I’m really excited about this year. The standard has just been terrific.

“This year is phenomenal and nobody has a fixed idea of who Nancy is.

“There’s a really broad range of ages, experience and looks.”

He added: “The big question is who’s going to steal the show – and my money’s on the Olivers.”

The BBC’s newest reality TV show, I’d Do Anything is due to kick off this Saturday night, and to get you in the mood for all those cute little Olivers, and buxom Nancy’s, we have put together ten facts that you might not know about Oliver the stage show!

1. Oliver! was the creation of British composer, playwright and lyricist Lionel Bart (1930-1999).
2. He had no formal music education and could neither read nor write music.
3. Oliver! first opened at the New Theatre (later the Albery and now the Noel Coward Theatre) in June 1960 and ran for more th 2,600 performances.
4. The show opened on Broadway in 1963.
5. Barry Humphries created the role of Mr Sowerberry in the original London production and reprised the role on Broadway.
6. In 1968, the film version of Oliver! was released, starring Mark Lester in the title role. In 1969, the film won five Oscars including Best Picture and five other Oscar nominations.
7. It was also nominated for eight BAFTAs in the same year, as well as winning two Golden Globes and being nominated for a further three.
8. In 1967, Oliver! was revived for the West End at the Piccadilly Theatre, where Barry Humphries starred as Fagin. He reprised the role in Cameron Mackintosh’s 1994 revival at the London Palladium, where the show ran from December 1994 to February 1998.
9. Oliver! has been performed throughout the world in 15 different languages.
10. In Food, Glorious Food, the boys dream of cold jelly and custard. But in foreign translations of productions, some of the local delicacies they long for are goulash soup (Hungary), meat pudding (Sweden) and huge cakes and pork chops (Poland)!

Actor, comedian, writer, satirist, painter and star of musical theatre Barry Humphries CBE joins Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber in BBC One’s new talent search show I’d Do Anything, it was announced today.

Following the runaway Saturday night successes of its predecessors How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do, the new series – again fronted by Graham Norton – seeks to find brand new youthful stars for the roles of Nancy and Oliver for Cameron Mackintosh’s forthcoming revival of the much-loved timeless Lionel Bart musical, Oliver!

Humphries joins fellow panellists John Barrowman and Denise Van Outen when the series starts next month.

In a stellar career, Barry Humphries has met with huge success in musical theatre on both sides of the Atlantic and has long been associated with the enduring appeal of Oliver! Read more & comment »