Gary Barlow faces backlash over Take That reality TV show Let It Shine as FOUR more West End stars audition for the judges
Professional actors including Thriller Live star Jason Brock are competing against amateur performers for a place in musical
TV talent show Let It Shine faces a backlash as four more West End stars are seen auditioning in front of Gary Barlow.
The professional actors are competing for a place in the band for the new Take That musical against amateur performers.
Gary, 45, has already had to defend the decision to allow seasoned entertainers to apply.
Current Thriller Live cast member Jason Brock dazzled the judges during the BBC1 show’s premiere last week.
Gary said: “This is open to everybody — we have to open it to everyone.
“We can’t say, ‘Hey if you’ve been on the stage before you can’t come through the door’.
“The great thing about someone like Jason is that he brings with him two years of experience of being in a show.
“Now if he’s in a band with someone who’s had no experience and they’re 16 years old and they’ve left home for a year, he’s going to be an amazing support mechanism for them.”
Viewers will see Scott Sutcliffe, who has appeared in Mamma Mia! and The Who’s Tommy, audition along with Dylan Reid, who starred in the Irish musical Once.
They are joined by former White Christmas and Aladdin actor Jonathan Halliwell and Harry Neale.
Harry is a West End veteran after starring in Footloose, Dreamboats and Petticoats, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He dated former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett, 34, in 2013 after meeting on stage and even appeared in an episode of EastEnders last month.
In front of the cameras, he even shows off his abs by going topless during a flirty chat with judge Dannii Minogue, 45.
The Sun revealed that Take That star Gary had undergone a mystery op on Thursday — the day of his 17th wedding anniversary.
In a series of tweets yesterday he joked “breast implants successful”, “facelift complete” and added “not man, I’m now a woman”.
Let It Shine drew first blood in the talent show ratings war last Saturday after drawing 6.8million viewers — 400,000 more than ITV’s singing contest The Voice.
The Beeb — which lost The Voice to the rival channel — saw the shows overlap for 25 minutes.