Ex-Corrie star lands dream musical role alongside X Factor singer – five years after quitting ITV soap

FORMER Coronation Street prima is acceptable to execute successful the longest-running American musical, joining forces with an X Factor semi-finalist.

Soap histrion Faye Brookes, champion known for her trailblaizing storyline arsenic Kate Connor successful Coronation Street, volition beryllium playing Roxie Hart successful the philharmonic Chicago.

Set amidst the decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the communicative of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side person aft helium threatens to locomotion retired connected her.

Desperate to debar conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest transgression lawyer to alteration her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which mightiness conscionable arsenic easy beryllium ripped from today’s tabloids.

Faye, 37, said: "I’m truthful unbelievably grateful to beryllium returning to play the relation Roxie Hart. I adore her. Always have. Always will.

"She’s specified an absorbing quality that I observe thing caller astir her each day.

"There’s a crushed wherefore it’s the longest moving American musical, everyone tin subordinate to the communicative successful immoderate way. To maine it’s the cleanable musical, there’s thing for everyone."

Faye antecedently played Roxie Hart to acclaim successful the 2021 UK and Ireland circuit of the show.

Her other theatre credits see Fran successful Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical.

Faye won the National Television Award for Most Popular Newcomer for her relation arsenic Kate Connor successful Coronation Street successful 2017.

Kate's doomed romance with Rana Habeeb made them 1 of the soap's astir fashionable couples, but Rana was killed successful a mill extortion illness successful March 2019.

Shortly after, Kate's last scenes aired successful an hour-long episode, wherever she near Weatherfield to question the world. 

She said goodbye to her household and friends successful the Rovers, including her dada Johnny, measurement mum Jenny, sister Carla, and ex-girlfriend Sophie. 

Faye past appeared successful the thirteenth bid of Dancing connected Ice successful 2021, wherever she finished successful 2nd place.

Now, successful Chicago, Faye volition prima alongside vocalist Brenda Edwards, 55, who volition play Mama Morton.

Brenda soared to fame arsenic a semi-finalist connected The X Factor, panelist connected Loose Women and relation arsenic Motormouth Maybelle successful West End's Hairspray.

Brenda said: "For maine it’s the songs, the razzle dazzle of it all, and the quality – she’s an astonishing brag lady!

"The music and the choreography spell manus successful hand, it’s a slick and creaseless production, that’s timeless.

"It’ll ne'er beryllium outdated, it’s a classic. It’s besides loosely based connected existent events that happened successful the 1920s - it’s astonishing to spot that transformed into this philharmonic successful this way."

This comes aft Brenda discussed the daze she felt aft being diagnosed with bosom crab successful 2015, and the lasting broadside effects she deals with each day.

Brenda was performing arsenic Motormouth Maybelle successful 'Hairspray The Musical' during the clip erstwhile she recovered what she describes arsenic a “frozen pea” sized lump successful her breast, portion taking a shower.

And erstwhile she got her diagnosis, the prima said she had to instrumentality her telephone on to grounds everything the oncologist was telling her, arsenic she went “completely blank,” and besides went alone.

Brenda told The Sun: “When I was told I had crab I went into a blank, and truthful erstwhile I went to spot my oncologist, I took a telephone with me, and I said ‘please tin I grounds this due to the fact that immoderate you're astir to say, I won’t retrieve it.’

“And I recorded everything and I'm truthful gladsome I did, due to the fact that I had truthful galore questions aboriginal on.”

After her diagnosis, it was afloat velocity up for Brenda, arsenic the talented performer would person “chemo connected a Thursday and beryllium connected signifier connected a Friday.”

Brenda was acrophobic that the chemotherapy would interaction her philharmonic abilities though, arsenic a conduit was placed precise adjacent to her vocal chords.

She explained: “I had a larboard enactment into my cervix to administer the chemotherapy. The conduit was adjacent to my vocal cords.  And 1 of my broadside effects from the chemotherapy was adust mouth.

“And I’m a singer, truthful I was eating lozenges, chromatic and citrus glycerin lozenges. I was utilizing intelligence minty rima spray. I was drinking truthful overmuch water, you know?”

She praised her Hairspray formed and Loose Women co-stars for each their enactment during what Brenda has said was an particularly “rough” time.

Chicago runs from November 19 to 23 astatine the Mayflower Theatre.