Gary has already written two musicals; his adaptation of Finding Neverland is in its last few weeks on Broadway and is due to open in London in 2017 and The Girls, a musical based on Calendar Girls is opening at the Phoenix Theatre in London in January.
Now, he's apparently got the bug and it's led him to follow in the footsteps of Andrew Lloyd Webber and front a Saturday night TV show which will form a band who will lead the show (rumoured to be titled The Band) when it hits the stage.
The format has been a huge hit for the BBC in the past with no less than four leading roles being cast from Connie Fisher winning How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria in 2006 to Danielle Hope's triumph in Over The Rainbow in 2010. Lloyd Webber then moved to ITV in 2012 to find his Jesus for the new arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar which also starred Tim Minchin and Melanie C. ITV had previously tried to compete with the BBC on the musicals front in 2007 when Simon Cowell produced Grease Is The Word in a bid to find a Danny & Sandy for David Ian's production of Grease which ran at the Piccadilly theatre until 2011.
Because we have an Mastermind champion level knowledge on this type of thing - and the fact we're a bit luvvie in general - Pop Kulture has delved into the archives (Twitter and Wikipedia) to find out what some of the most memorable contestants are up to now. There's also the fact it's been 10 years since How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria and it's nice to commemorate these things.
Connie Fisher
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| itv.com |
Place: Winner
Connie opened in The Sound Of Music in November 2006 and continued playing Maria until February 2008. She reprised her role on the UK tour of the show in 2009. She also released two albums and, in 2008, played an Elvis Presley obsessive in the gloriously named ITV drama Caught In A Trap. In 2011, Connie was diagnosed with congenital sulcus vocalis (holes in her vocal chords) and was told she would never sing again. In 2015 she met with vocal coach, Gary Catona who describes himself as a 'Voice Builder' (capitals his own) in a bid to find her voice again. Her efforts to sing again were filmed and a documentary - again amazingly titled - Connie Fisher: I'll Sing Once More, in which she cried a lot, was broadcast on BBC. In March of this year she filmed a documentary about her relationship with make up for BBC One Wales.
Rachel Tucker
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| Darren Bell |
Place: Fourth
Rachel's As Long As He Needs Me after being evicted remains one of Pop Kulture's greatest moments of television ever. Before the show, Rachel was an established actress and had appeared in several tours but it wasn't until after I'd Do Anything that she made her West End debut playing Meat in We Will Rock You. Since then Rachel has painted herself green for a living. In 2010 she took over the role of Elphaba in Wicked and is currently the longest serving Elphaba to date, having amassed over 900 performances before leaving the show in 2012. She reprised her role on Broadway where she is currently still starring but it has been announced she will return to the London production - for a strictly limited run - to celebrate its 10th anniversary in September. In between being green, Rachel found time to make her Broadway debut in Sting's first musical The Last Ship and founded the Bridge House Theatre with husband, theatre director Guy Retallack.
Danielle Hope
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| Stephanie Methven |
Place: Winner
Danielle was only 18 when she won the role of Dorothy and hadn't had any formal training so, before taking on the role in the West End, spent 3 months at Arts Ed, a drama school in London, on an intensive musical theatre course. She opened in The Wizard of Oz in March 2011 and stayed until February 2012. Since The Wizard of Oz she has played Eponine in the West End production of Les Miserables for which she was nominated for Best Takeover In A Role at the 2013 WhatsOnStage awards. She has also appeared in UK tours of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat where she played the narrator and played Maria in The Sound Of Music. She returned to play Eponine in February for a limited run and was succeeded by Eva Noblezada who is currently in the role.
Lee Mead
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| Loose Women/itv.com |
Place: Winner
Lee Mead holds the title of being the only contestant on any of these shows to marry a judge (a title we're sure was much sought after during Grease Is The Word). He wed Denise Van Outen in 2009 before splitting in 2013. Personal strife aside, since playing the lead in Joseph he has starred in Wicked (alongside Rachel Tucker) and Legally Blonde in the West End. He has also tried his hand at a music career, releasing a few albums and touring the UK. In 2014, it was announced he was joining Casualty, playing the role of Lofty. Here at Pop Kulture, we're awaiting confirmation from Casualty HQ of our theory that the character is the son of the Eastenders character of the same name from the 80s. Lee is currently touring the UK playing Caractacus Potts (try saying that after 3 vodkas) in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang alongside Pop Kulture hero Michelle Collins.
Samantha Barks
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| Jonathan McLachlan |
Place: Third
If you're not au fait with musical theatre based UK reality TV shows, we would forgive you if Samantha Barks is the only name off this list you recognise (although how dare you not know who Jodie Prenger is). Samantha is best known for playing Eponine in the movie adaptation of Les Miserables, a role she previously played in the West End and was then chosen to play by Sir Cameron Mackintosh himself at the 25th Anniversary concert at London's O2 arena. It was whilst playing Nancy in Sir CMack's UK tour of Oliver! he appeared on stage at the curtain call and announced she had won the role in the Les Mis movie. Since the movie she has played Velma Kelly in Chicago at the Hollywood Bowl and appeared in the title role of Amelie, A New Musical in California. She recently appeared on our screens in Bear Grylls: Mission Survive; pretty much the only reality show we would refuse to take part in. Her self-titled album is currently on sale and she embarks (pun absolutely intended) on a UK tour at the end of this month.
Ben Forster
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| Leigh Kelly |
Place: Winner
Since winning the role of Jesus (a line we don't really get a chance to write too often) Ben toured arenas up and down the UK with Jesus Christ Superstar before leading the show down under where it became one of the most successful Australian tours of all time. It also starred Australian icon, Tim Minchin. In 2013, Ben took on the role of Brad Majors in the 40th Anniversary production of The Rocky Horror Show and has toured the UK extensively with the show. He reprised his role last year when the show opened at the Playhouse Theatre in London starring creator, Richard O'Brien and was broadcast live in cinemas throughout the country. Last Christmas Ben played Buddy in the musical adaptation of Elf alongside Girls Aloud's Kimberley Walsh and is currently swishing a cloak and rowing a boat around the stage to great acclaim as the title role in The Phantom of the Opera.
Keith Jack
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| AberlourCCT |
Place: Second
If you are Scottish you'll be familiar with losing out and the feeling of crushing disappointment but ever since David Sneddon and Michelle McManus gave us a taste of glory in the 00s we've been chasing the dream of one of our own again being announced as the winner on national TV. It's the main reason we act outraged if someone dares speak ill of SuBo. In 2007 we came ever so close to that feeling of national pride when Keith Jack was up against Lee Mead in the final of Any Dream Will Do. Sadly, it wasn't to be and no one was more upset than our granny about the whole thing. However, Keith may not have got to play Joseph on the big West End stage but he has been touring the UK in the role on and off for bloody years. Aside from Joseph, he's starred in the critically acclaimed, all male HMS Pinafore, appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe in Sincerely Mr Toad and has most recently been seen in Forever Plaid, a musical featuring hits from the 1950s alongside Jon Lee (of S Club 7!!!)
Lauren Samuels
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| David M Benett/Getty Images |
Place: Third
After placing third in Over The Rainbow, Lauren made her West End debut as Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre alongside Noel Sullivan (don't pretend you've forgotten all of Hear'Say's names. We even remember Johnny Shentall who took over from Kym. He's married to Lisa Scott Lee.) They performed together again when Lauren was cast as Scaramouche in We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre, a role she reprised for the show's 10th anniversary tour which saw her perform in some of the biggest arenas around the world. In January 2015, it was announced she would play Jules (the Keira Knightley character) in the stage adaptation of Bend It Like Beckham. The show opened in May 2015 and saw Lauren land a nomination for Best Supporting Actress In A Musical at the WhatsOnStage awards. It was an unfortunate year to be nominated though as Gypsy was up for and won almost every award going; pretty much how we think it'll play out when Hamilton comes to town next year. She has recently finished a run of a new musical, The Buskers Opera at London's Park Theatre.
Jodie Prenger
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| Really Useful Group |
Place: Winner
The People's Nancy won the public vote even after producer Cameron Mackintosh said on live TV he'd have preferred runner up, Jessie Buckley to land the part. Thankfully, CMack took it on the chin and didn't storm off like Pete Waterman when Michelle McManus won Pop Idol 2 in 2003. Since playing Nancy, Jodie has played The Lady of the Lake in the UK tour of Spamalot and became a proper thespian when she landed the role of Dolly in the National Theatre's massive hit, One Man, Two Guv'nors at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. In 2015, Jodie led the UK tour of Calamity Jane where the Nottingham Post described her performance as being up there with the greats and compared her to Judy Garland and Doris Day. She has most recently finished starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one woman show, Tell Me On A Sunday. She can also be found the odd time on Radio 2 filling in for Elaine Paige or Paul O'Grady. If she's ever busy, we don't mind putting ourselves forward. Anything to help out here at Pop Kulture.
David Hunter
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| Claire Newman-Williams |
Place: Fourth
We still feel very strongly that David deserved a place in the final of Superstar but apparently Jason Donovan and Mel C knew better. If you think we're still bitter we absolutely are.
Before Superstar, David had had roles in Tommy at The Prince Edward Theatre and One Man, Two Guv'nors, the James Corden vehicle which we hold responsible for him being such a huge star in the US now. His first role post Superstar was in Seussical at the Arts Theatre before he joined the cast of Once at the Phoenix Theatre where he understudied both Declan Bennett and Arthur Darvill as the lead before landing the role for himself in 2014. Excitingly, he was succeeded by Ronan Keating, a Pop Kulture hero and father figure. We imagine David is currently walking around his living room in a pair of heels as he takes over as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots in August. Heel then toe, David. Don't put your whole foot down at once and maybe carry a pair of flats in your bag for the taxi queue.
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