X Factor's Diana Vickers to hit West End
Updated on 10 July 2009
Former X Factor contestant Diana Vickers is to hit the West End stage in the savage black comedy drama The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.
Lancastrian Vickers, 17, will star as the painfully shy girl from the north of England with the amazing voice in the role made famous by actress Jane Horrocks.
Vickers, who will take a break from recording her debut album, out early next year, to star in the show, has been described by Little Voice writer Jim Cartwright as a "natural actress".
Producer Nica Burns said: "When Jim Cartwright, who originally wrote The Rise and Fall of Little Voice for Jane Horrocks, told me he had found the perfect girl - and then dragged me off to Wembley to see Diana Vickers perform as part of the X Factor tour, I thought he'd gone mad.
"But when I saw Diana I knew immediately he was right; she has a special quality. When she finally agreed - after much persuasion - to come in and read for us, we found out that not only can she sing but she was an intuitive actress as well."
Further casting in the play, which will be revived to run at London's Vaudeville theatre from Thursday, October 8, will be announced soon.
Vickers appeared in last year's X Factor contest, which was eventually won by Alexandra Burke.
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