THE PHOENIX GETS A KITTEN – NATASHA HAMILTON JOINS BLOOD BROTHERS

Natasha Hamilton will join the cast of Willy Russell's Blood Brothers as Mrs Johnstone from 24th January 2011. This will mark her West End debut although she has trodden the boards before, appearing in the title role in Peter Pan in the Liverpool Empire's pantomime last year, which also starred Les Dennis and Henry "The Fonz" Winkler. As a founder member of girlband trio Atomic Kitten Hamilton shot to fame with hits like The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling), Eternal Flame and It's OK!. Whole Again, the groups biggest hit, spent 4 weeks at the top of the charts in the UK and hit number one in a further 18 countries. In 2003 Hamilton was the winner of the annual Rear Of The Year award.

The role of Mrs Johnstone has recently been played by both Spice Girl Melanie C, who received an Olivier Award nomination for her performance and X Factor contestant Niki Evans. In previous years this pivotal role has been portrayed by Kiki Dee, Carole King, Helen Reddy and Barbara Dickson and four of the Nolan Sisters. The show has been thrilling West End audiences for over two decades and tells the tale of twin boys separated at birth who have grown up with very different lives. They are reunited by a twist of fate and a mother's haunting secret to emotional and ultimately tragic consequences.

The story of Blood Brothers is set in Liverpool, Hamilton's home town, so there should be no accent worries!