Fleur East to make West End debut in Tina Turner musical
Her previous acting experience has included appearing in episodes of the hit AppleTV+ football comedy Ted Lasso.
Fleur East will make her West End debut in the long-running Tina Turner musical.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which depicts the American singer’s life from her humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee to her transformation into a rock ‘n’ roll star, began in April 2018 at the Aldwych Theatre in London.
East will share the role of Turner alongside one of its current stars, theatre actress Karis Anderson.
Her previous acting experience has included appearing in episodes of hit AppleTV+ football comedy Ted Lasso as the host of a Love Island-style show.
She first rose to fame on the 2014 series of the ITV show The X Factor, where she was a runner-up and secured a record deal with judge Simon Cowell’s Syco Music company.
In 2022, she competed on BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, where she was a finalist with professional partner Vito Coppola.
East, 37, also presents the Hits Radio Breakfast Show alongside Will Best and James Barr, and has been on ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!
The musical’s producer Tali Pelman said “I am a huge admirer of Fleur, who has always struck me as an extraordinary woman; an exceptional talent who, like Tina Turner, will not allow herself to be defined by others.
“Fleur’s generosity, optimism, kindness and determination are all qualities that are truly Tina.
“She is a natural, and we are thrilled she has decided to make her stage debut in our musical. I am tremendously excited that our journey together has begun.”
Following the London production, a Broadway show opened in November 2019.
Both productions and their casts have been nominated for multiple prestigious awards in both the UK and the US, including Olivier and Tony Awards.
Turner’s life has been made into the biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It, named after her hit album and song, starring Angela Bassett as the singer and Laurence Fishburne as her allegedly abusive husband Ike Turner.
Both Bassett and Fishburne received nods at the 66th Academy Awards, for best actor and best actress, with Bassett winning the Golden Globe Award for best actress – motion picture comedy or musical, for her performance.
Turner, who was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, died after a long illness at the age of 83 in Switzerland in May 2023.
She sold more than 100 million records, and starred in the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome alongside Mel Gibson – and also appeared in 1993’s Last Action Hero.
East will perform in the musical from June 24 to September 13.
