Wearing sloppy tops, jogging bottoms and severe scowls, two of the North East's most recognisable celebrities take on a very different look in a photo call for their latest roles in the spotlight. Liberty X star Michelle Heaton and TV actor Bill Ward have been unveiled by the Theatre Royal in Newcastle as the newest cast members to take roles in the upcoming new show Gerry & Sewell. The play by local writer-director Jamie Eastlake is an adaptation of the book The Season Ticket - which also inspired locally-made film Purely Belter - and the story follows two football mad lads' desperate bid to get their hands on a pair of Newcastle United season tickets.
It was announced in July that, in a theatre collaboration, Gerry & Sewell will take to the city stage for an October 2-5 run at the Theatre Royal , with original cast members Dean Logan and Jack Robertson reprising their roles as pals Gerry and Sewell. And now it has been revealed that they are to be joined by both Heaton - the former Popstars contestant from Gateshead who went on to make it big in Liberty X and as a stage actress - and local actor Ward who is well known for the likes of Coronation Street, Emmerdale and TV dramas including, most recently, Vera . Read more: Review of Come From Away at Newcastle Theatre Royal Get all the latest North East updates with our free What’s On newsletter The pair will play Gerry's parents Mr and Mrs McCarten.
And along with the news from the theatre came those first images of the pai.