Astrologer Russell Grant to guest star in sparkly musical Grease at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford (From News Shopper)

Astrologer Russell Grant to guest star in sparkly musical Grease at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford

4:25pm Thursday 2nd August 2012 in Freetime latest news By Nikki Jarvis

Britain’s best-loved astrologer is set to don a sparkly suit and leave his audience Hopelessly Devoted when he stars in smash hit musical Grease.

Strictly Come Dancing favourite Russell Grant will guest star in the show when it roars on stage at The Orchard Theatre in Dartford.

Grant will step into the electrifying role of Teen Angel between August 27 and September 1.

And it seems he was born for the job.

He said: “I went to drama school from the age of seven.

“There were times when I wanted to be a history or geography teacher, but I was always involved in musical theatre of some kind or another.”

Earlier this year, Grant performed as The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz.

Asked how the two roles compare, he said: “They are very different.

“The Wizard of Oz was a very strange and enigmatic man, whereas Teen Angel is much more in your face.

“The only comparison is both roles had dance routines put in them for me and were never part of the original show.”

Appearing on Strictly has helped Grant to pick up the pace of his demanding part with ease.

He added: “When you’re dancing with a world champion like Flavia Cacace, you go in there on the first day and you haven’t a clue what the hell is going on and then you suddenly end up doing all these routines - so it didn’t take me so long to pick it up.

“It’s such a beautiful, wonderful cast, and working with the girls and lovely Lauren Hood, who plays Frenchie, they made life so much easier for me.”

Grant also relates well to his character because he is very theatrical.

He continued: “The thing I can’t relate to is he sees himself as a sex god, he’s got a huge ego and thinks himself as God’s gift to women - I’m not that.

“When it comes to the fun element, when it comes to the music and dancing and stuff like that, I can relate to the role rather than the character.”

Danny Bayne (winner of ITV’s Grease is the Word) stars as Danny with Carina Gillespie (Grease in the West End) as his sweetheart Sandy.

The couple follow in the footsteps of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John who famously played the roles in the hit 1978 movie. 

Grease returned to the West End in July 2007 and during its triumphant run, the audience favourite played over 1,500 performances and was seen by over one-and-a-half million theatregoers at the Piccadilly Theatre where it became the longest running show in the venue’s history.

Tickets are available from £25.50 and a booking fee applies.

Visit orchardtheatre.co.uk for bookings.