BBC Radio 2 breakfast show host Zoe Ball is set to present new ITV talent show Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream, based around West End hit show Mamma Mia!.
Zoe is a self-confessed ABBA fan, and she would be perfect to front the new West End talent series.
Other names attached to the show include much-loved comedian and presenter Alan Carr, who is rumoured to be a judge on Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream.
Also Mamma Mia!’s West End musical creator and global producer Judy Craymer, is going to be on hand to mentor the contestants in the new talent show.
This ITV show was originally announced back in December, and will be similar to previous TV shows that set out to find new West End stars. That includes Any Dream Will Do!, which searched for a star of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolr Dreamcoat, How do you Solve a Problem like Maria?, looking for the lead to play Maria in The Sound of Music, I’d Do Anything, searching for a Nancy to star in Oliver! and Over the Rainbow, casting Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream will conduct a nationwide search later in 2023 for two actors to take the roles of Sophie and Sky in the hit on-stage musical, currently played in the West End at the Novello Theatre in London by Meg Hateley and Miles Henderson. The lead role of Donna, played by Meryl Streep in the hit movies, is played by Mazz Murray.
The eight-part Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream series will screen on ITV1 at the end of the year, and will be filmed on a Greek Island – the backdrop to where the story is set.
The live finale of the show will be hosted in a West End theatre, and see the final contestants pitted against each other to win the ultimate theatre prize.
When news of the TV show was first announced, Judy Craymer said in a statement that: “Mamma Mia! has always been a show that has encouraged young actors and given opportunities to those making their stage debuts – just as our current Sophie and Sky in London (Meg Hateley and Miles Henderson) are making their West End debuts – so it feels the perfect fit for a TV show that will seek out new talent for musical theatre. In the lead-up to the celebrations for the stage musical’s 25th birthday in 2024, we’re really looking forward to working with Thames and ITV on this show and involving our well-loved musical as much as possible in the programme.”
Other ABBA shows to enjoy in London right now include Mamma Mia! The Party at The O2; and mega-hit concert ABBA Voyage at ABBA Arena in London.
Book tickets to Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre in London
