Michael Crawford to Help Celebrities Master Musical Talents on ITV This Christmas

West End legend Michael Crawford will guide seven well known celebrities through an all singing, all dancing musical theatre extravaganza, coming to ITV this Christmas.

Hosted by Freddie Flintoff, All Star Musicals will feature a cast of famous faces who will each perform an iconic number from a hit musical at the legendary Palladium Theatre in London's West End.

Sir Tony Robinson, Denise Lewis OBE, Nicky Campbell, Sally Phillips, Lucy Fallon, Michael Parr and Rebecca Front, all of whom have been selected based upon their stand out performance skills, will train with some of the West End's most seasoned performers as they get to grips with their chosen song. They will then debut their number - supported by a sensational chorus line - to a packed house at the London Palladium.

Along the way they will be guided by one of Britain's best loved musical stars Michael Crawford, who will be on hand to offer guidance, advice and encouragement ahead of their big performance. With both Tony and Olivier awards to his name, Michael has amassed a West End career spanning five decades.

Presenter Freddie Flintoff will soon himself be no stranger to the stage, as he will be making his debut in Fat Friends the musical later this year.

The show will feature numbers from a range of famous musicals, including Chicago, Evita and Guys and Dolls, with the theatre audience deciding at the end of the night whose performance wowed them the most.

Siobhan Greene, Head of Entertainment Commissioning for ITV, said "All Star Musicals is going to be the ultimate night out, in. I am so excited that Michael Crawford has agreed to take part and with Freddie Flintoff hosting too, the viewers have a real treat in store, with our fabulous cast performing in some truly iconic musical numbers."

Richard Hastings, Creative Director for Shiver, said, "All Star Musicals will be the ultimate 'Night out at the Musicals', with the legendary Michael Crawford guiding and supporting our celebrities to create a completely unique and magical event'.

All Star Musicals was commissioned by ITV's Head of Entertainment Commissioning Siobhan Greene and will be made by Shiver. It will be executive produced by Fiona Clark and Richard Hastings, and produced by Iona Mackenzie.

The original Phantom in the productions of The Phantom of The Opera in London, on Broadway and in Los Angeles, Michael Crawford's other stage credits in London and on Broadway include Count Fosco in The Woman in White; Billy; Flowers for Algernon; Black Comedy; Dance of the Vampires; Barnum; The Wizard in Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of The Wizard of Oz. He most recently starred as Leo Colston in The Go Between at the Apollo Theatre, London.

As the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, Michael was awarded the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics' Circle, Dramalogue and Drama Critics' Circle awards; 1981 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Barnum. In recognition of his career achievements, Michael was made an Officer of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, and in recognition of his services to charity was made a Commander of The British Empire in the New Year Honours of 2014.

His films include Hello, Dolly! starring Barbra Streisand, directed by Gene Kelly; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; The Knack; The Jokers; How I Won the War co-starring John Lennon; The Games; Hello and Goodbye; Alices Adventures in Wonderland; Condorman.

His television work includes Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em; Not so Much a Programme, More a Way of Life; Play for Today; Chalk and Cheese. After 40 years Michael returned as Frank Spencer in a special one-off sketch of "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" for Sport Relief 2016, helping to raise over £56million on the night.