Strictly Come Dancing champion Ellie Leach 'delighted' to make stage debut in Cluedo 2 touring to Sheffield and Nottingham

Former Coronation Street actress Ellie will play Miss Scarlett, replacing ex-Corrie star Helen Flanagan who has been advised to withdraw from the production “due to medical reasons”.

Starring alongside Ellie will be TV favourite Jason Durr, most recently seen as David Hide in BBC One’s Casualty which is a role he played for seven years. Audiences will also recognise Jason as the motorbike riding policeman Mike Bradley from ITV’s popular series Heartbeat.

Ellie, who won the Strictly glitterball trophy with dance partner Vito Coppola in December said: “After an incredible year I’m so excited to join the cast of Cluedo 2. I am delighted to make my stage acting debut as Miss Scarlett and I can’t wait to work with Jason and the talented cast.”

Cluedo 2 – The Next Chapter will tour to Sheffield Lyceum Theatre from May 14 to 18 and Nottingham Theatre Royal from May 21 to 25, 2024. The show is based on the classic Hasbro boardgame, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, and follows the huge success of the critically acclaimed stage play.

As the bodies pile up, colourful characters - The Honourable Mrs Emerald Peacock, Colonel Eugene Mustard, ‘Professor’ Alex Plum, Miss Annabel Scarlett, ‘The Reverend’ Hal Green and the housekeeper Mrs White - move from room to room trying to escape the murderer and survive the night. Cluedo 2, will keep audiences guessing right up to the final moments, and budding detectives of all ages, from 8 to 80 and beyond, can watch for the clues and unravel the secrets, as they try to work out whodunnit… with what… and where!

Jason Durr said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the cast of Cluedo 2 as Colonel Mustard. I was a huge fan of the Cluedo board game as a child and the Colonel is such a great character. I am looking forward to bringing laughter and this ultimate whodunnit to audiences across the UK in its 75th anniversary year.”

Cluedo 2 is an original new story set in the swinging 60s, penned by one of the UK’s most successful TV and stage writing duos, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran’s numerous credits include much loved series such as Birds of a Feather, Goodnight Sweetheart, The New Statesman, Shine on Harvey Moon and, for the stage, the musical franchise Dreamboats and Petticoats.

Olivier award winning director Mark Bell, who directed the original Cluedo play in the UK and the worldwide phenomenon, The Play That Goes Wrong, as well as A Comedy About a Bank Robbery in the West End, brings the action of this hilarious whodunnit to life.

Age gudance is 12+ years.

Tickets for Sheffield are priced from £15, go to www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk. Tickets for Nottingham start at £19.50, go to www.trch.co.uk