Strictly Come Dancing champion Ellie Leach steps into a little red dress to play Miss Scarlett in Cluedo 2 touring to Sheffield

Ellie said: “This is my first stage play and I am very excited to be playing Miss Scarlett. It is nerve-wracking as it’s something completely different to TV but I really want to push myself out of my comfort zone. A year ago, I would never have expected Strictly, then the Strictly arena tour and now Cluedo 2 happen. I am so grateful as Miss Scarlett is such an iconic character to play.”She stars alongside Casualty actor Jason Durr who has been cast as Colonel Mustard in the show which runs at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre from May 14 to 18, 2024.

Jason said: “I have done an enormous amount of television but there is nothing quite like performing in front of a live audience and making people laugh. I am looking forward to acting on stage, and getting my funny bones going again in the form of this rip-roaring comedy. When I read the scripts for the first time, I was in a quiet coach on a train and I started hooting with laughter! A lady told me to be quiet but I couldn’t help but laugh throughout.”

Both roles have been cleverly reinvented to fit in with the new setting of the play in the rock ‘n’ roll 1960s. Ellie said: “At first Miss Scarlett seems like butter won’t melt. She is an interior designer and she seems very unassuming. But as the play develops, well…..people may not be quite what they seem. Cluedo is, after all, a thriller and murder mystery game!”

Like Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard is also hiding secrets, Jason said: “We are going to be reinventing the narrative. Rick Black is a rock star in the play and Mustard is his manager.Like Elvis had the Colonel, this chap has Mustard! He thinks he knows what he is doing but he doesn’t really.

"This isn’t the first time I’ve played Colonel Mustard,” jsaid Jason. “I used to play him and the game as a kid. I grew up in Hong Kong and the one game we loved was Cluedo. I’ve introduced it to my children now too.”

Tickets start at £15 for Cluedo 2: The Next Chapter; book online at www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk