Jungle queen Jacqueline Jossa to make West End debut this Christmas

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! winner Jacqueline Jossa will make her West End debut in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol next month.

The actress, 28, will appear at the Dominion Theatre in London as Emily/Ghost of Christmas Future.

Best known for playing Lauren Branning in Eastenders from 2010 to 2018, Jossa won best newcomer at the National Television Awards and was crowned I’m A Celebrity’s jungle queen in 2019.

Busted star Matt Jay-Willis, whose theatre credits include Wicked and Little Shop Of Horrors, has also signed up to play Bob Cratchit.

Also joining the cast are X Factor finalist Lucie Jones playing the Ghost of Christmas Past, Emmerdale’s Sandra Marvin as Mrs Fezziwig and Martyn Ellis as her husband Mr Fezziwig.

Olivier Award nominee Brian Conley will take on the lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge. He will be joined on stage by an orchestra and cast of over 50.

Based on the novella by Charles Dickens, the show was written by Alan Menken, Lynn Ahrens and Mike Ockrent and first premiered in New York in 1994.

The musical tells the classic story of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and his journeys to Christmases past, present and future accompanied by ghostly apparitions.

The score will be performed by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra, which has previously performed A Christmas Carol in 2016, 2017 and 2018 at the Lyceum Theatre in London’s West End.

Covid safety measures and social distancing will be in place front of house, on stage, backstage and throughout the Dominion Theatre. Those who become unable to attend, unwell or who have to isolate will be able to exchange tickets free of charge up to 24 hours before the performance.

A Christmas Carol will run from December 7 2020 to January 2 2021. Tickets are on sale now.