An Essex theatre has announced a star-studded cast for a new production of The Full Monty.

Southend Theatres has announced the cast for the "fast and funny" Simon Beaufoy play coming to Cliffs Pavilion next year.

EastEnders star Danny Hatchard is set to play Gaz and soap star Bill Ward will play Gerald.

Boxted-based reality star Jake Quickenden, who rose to fame on The X Factor, will be Guy.

The play will also feature Neil Hurst as Dave, Ben Onwukwe as Horse, and Nicholas Prasad as Lomper.

A Southend Theatre spokesman said: "Book now to relive the music of the 90’s and have a great night out in the company of our group of lads as they work to put on the show of their lives."

The new production is set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1997 smash hit film on a major national tour, coming to the Cliffs from February 6 to 10 in 2024.

For more information and to book your tickets, visit the Southend Theatres website here. 

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Who is Jake Quickenden?

Jake Quickenden appeared on the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012, getting as far of the judges houses.

On Sunday, Jake completed the London Marathon dressed as a giant bone, raising money in memory of his younger brother Oliver, who died of bone cancer in 2012 at the age of 19.

In March, Jake appeared in Discovery+'s Celebrity Help! My House is Haunted, where he learned he shares his Boxted home with the ghost of a Civil War soldier.

He auditioned for The X Factor again two years after his first appearance, when he got through to the live shows, but he was eliminated from the contest in the third week.

Later that year, Jake participated in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! finishing as the runner-up to Carl Fogarty.

He later went on to win the tenth series of Dancing on Ice, and has since appeared on other TV shows and in musicals.