MATT WILLIS in Flashdance The Musical

Matt Willis of Busted stars in Flashdance The Musical

Matt Willis may be best known for singing in boyband Busted and winning the 2006 series of I’m A Celebrity… but he’s about to forge a whole new career.

Following in the footsteps of Hear’Say’s Noel Sullivan now starring in Grease, Simon Webbe from Blue in Sister Act and recent Legally Blonde cast member Duncan James from Blue, Matt joins the great migration from pop to stage.

He’s no stranger to acting though, having trained at Sylvia Young’s drama school as a child and winning parts in TV dramas The Bill, Casualty and EastEnders.

But getting a place in boyband Busted took his career in a whole new direction, and he toured the world with the band and then forged a solo career, releasing the singles Up All Night, Hey Kid and Don’t Let It Go to Waste as well as a cover version of The Primitives’ song Crash for the feature film Mr Bean’s Holiday.

Next up was a spot of reality TV and winning the 2006 series I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. This has led to a number of presenting jobs including ITV2′s coverage of the BRIT Awards and as a co-host on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

However, getting back to acting has remained an ambition for Willis and with his starring role in Flashdance The Musical, alongside up-and-coming actress Victoria Hamilton Barritt, he will be hoping it’s the beginning of a big new chapter.

Book tickets to Flashdance The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

Casting: Flashdance at the Shaftesbury

Busted’s Matt Willis and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt to star in Flashdance The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre

Flashdance The Musical will shimmy its way into the Shaftesbury Theatre this Autumn featuring the star of the UK tour of the show, Victoria Hamilton Barritt, and former Busted boyband member Matt Willis.

Based on the 80s movie about an 18 year old girl from Pittsburgh who is a welder by day and a ‘flashdancer” by night, the show starts previews on 24 September, with its press night on 14 October 2010.

Produced by David Ian (Grease), choreography will be by multi award-winning Arlene Phillips (Grease, We Will Rock You, Starlight Express, Saturday Night Fever, Strictly Come Dancing). She choreographed the recent UK tour but will re-choreograph the West End show from the ground-up.

The musical features a well-known score that includes Maniac, Manhunt, Gloria and the Academy Award winning title song Flashdance – What a Feeling. Ten original songs have also been created for the musical.

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt is currently starring as Rizzo in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre and created the role of Alex in the UK tour of Flashdance. Other credits include Mamma Mia!, Fame, Desperately Seeking Susan, Saturday Night Fever and West Side Story.

Matt Willis came to fame as a member of boyband Busted and went on to have a solo music career. He won the 2006 series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and has presnted a number of TV shows. He trained at the Sylvia Young acting school. Flashdance The Musical will be his West End theatre debut, fulfilling a long held ambition.

Flashdance is directed by Nikolai Foster and written by Tom Hedley and Robert Cary, with music by Robbie Roth, lyrics by Robert Cary and Robbie Roth, and musical supervision by Phil Edwards.

The full cast is: Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (Alex), Matt Willis (Nick), Sarah Ingram (Hannah), Charlotte Harwood (Gloria), Hannah Levane (Keisha) and Twinnie-Lee Moore (Jazmin), plus Brendan Cull, Russell Dixon, Sam Mackay, Ricky Rojas, Andrew Spillett and Robbie White, as well as Ivan Blackstock, Tyman Boatwright, Myles Brown, Joseph Conner, Natalie Edmunds, Nicholas Gilligan, Zoe Green, James Hall, Ben Harrold, Emily Hawgood, Kirby Huges, Sia Kiwa, Lindsay Shaw, Maria Swainson, Amy Thornton and Daniel Uppal.

Book tickets to Flashdance The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

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