Sherrie Hewson, Les Dennis and Jessica Ellis join the touring cast of Fat Friends The Musical

Alex-May Roberts, Lee Mead, Mollie Cranmer, Marc Akinfolarin, Jessica Ellis, Les Dennis, Helen Aylott and Sherrie Hewson join the cast of Fat Friends The Musical. Picture: Michael Wharley

Further casting has been announced for the UK and Ireland tour of Kay Mellor’s hit Fat Friends The Musical. With original music by Nick Lloyd Webber, the tour will open at Dartford Orchard Theatre on 14 January 2022. Joining the previously announced Lee Mead as Kevin will be Sherrie Hewson as Julia, Jessica Ellis as Kelly and Les Dennis as Fergus. Marc Akinfolarin also joins the cast as Alan with Alex-May Roberts as Val. Further casting to be announced soon.

Kay Mellor said: ‘I am thrilled with the amazing star cast we have assembled for our second outing of Fat Friends The Musical. Lee Mead and Jessica Ellis are fantastic performers and will be wonderful as Kevin and Kelly, and it’s great to be welcoming two iconic actors, Sherrie Hewson and Les Dennis who first worked together 40 years ago and are now reunited on stage.”

Fat Friends The Musical is created, directed and has a book and lyrics by the multi-award-winning Mellor, whose latest hit series of The Syndicate recently ran on BBC1. It has Music by Nicholas Lloyd Webber with set and costume design by Bretta Gerecke. Choreography is by Karen Bruce, sound by Ben Harrison, lighting by Nick Richings with orchestrations, arrangements and musical supervision by Simon Lee, casting by Stephen Crockett CDG for David Grindrod Associates, with additional casting by David Shaw CDG for David Shaw Casting. It is produced by Joshua Andrews and Rollem Productions.

Following its opening at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford (14-15 January 2022), Fat Friends The Musical continues to the New Theatre, Cardiff (18-22 January, Lee Mead will not perform on 22 January 2022), Theatre Royal, Nottingham (24-29 January), The Lyceum, Sheffield (31 January-5 February), King’s Theatre, Glasgow (7-12 February), Theatre Royal, Newcastle (14-19 February), Leeds Grand Theatre (21 February-5 March), Edinburgh Festival Theatre (7-12 March), The Orchard Theatre, Dartford (14-19 March), The Alexandra, Birmingham (29 March-2 April), Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (4-9 April), The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (11-16 April), Norwich Theatre Royal (25-30 April), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (3-7 May), Curve, Leicester (9-14 May), Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin (16-21 May), Liverpool Empire (23-28 May), The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford (30 May-4 June), The Lowry, Salford (6-11 June), Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (13-18 June, Jessica Ellis will not perform on 18 June 2022), Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury (20-25 June), Theatre Royal, Plymouth (27 June-2 July), Bristol Hippodrome (4-9 July), Venue Cymru, Llandudno (11-16 July) and Hull New Theatre (18-23 July).

The musical toured the UK in 2017 and is based on the hit ITV show Fat Friends, that starred James Corden and Ruth Jones.

Lee Mead is a much-loved actor of stage and screen. Having won the nations hearts when they voted him their Joseph in BBC1’s Any Dream Will Do, Mead has gone on to star in the West End in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Legally Blonde and Wicked before establishing himself as a TV favourite on Casualty and then Holby City in the role of Lofty.

Sherrie Hewson is probably best known as the iconic Maureen Holdsworth in ITV’s Coronation Street and Joyce Temple-Savage in six series of Benidorm. Her other TV credits include Russ Abbot’s Madhouse and ten years as the comedy cornerstone of Loose Women. No stranger to the stage, her many theatre credits include Stepping Out, Billy Liar, Run For Your Wife and Arsenic and Old Lace.

Jessica Ellis played Tegan Lomax in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks for five years. She most recently filmed the feature film Catherine Called Birdy, written and directed by Lena Dunham. She has appeared on stage in Bedroom Farce at Theatre by the Lake and in three Old Vic New Voices productions in New York. Fat Friends marks her musical theatre debut.

Les Dennis most recently starred as Wilbur in Hairspray opposite Michael Ball at the London Coliseum. His other West End credits include Amos Hart in Chicago and Bill in Me and My Girl. His touring theatre credits include Art, Legally Blonde, High School Musical 2 and Uncle Fester in the musical comedy The Addams Family. His many TV credits include Michael Rodwell in Coronation Street and a fictional version of himself in Extras.