How stagey are you? Gerard McCarthy vs Charlie Brooks

Gerard McCarthy

Gerard McCarthy found fame playing Kris in Hollyoaks and has recently been seen on TV in the smash hit The Fall alongside Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan.

His theatre credits include The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Globe, a UK tour of Blue/Orange and the UK premiere of It's a Wonderful Life at the Bridge House Theatre.

He plays Tony in Beautiful Thing which is currently touring the UK before arriving in the West End in June.

Charlie Brooks

Charlie Brooks is best known for playing Janine Butcher in EastEnders since 1999. She also won the twelfth series I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Her theatre credits include Our Country’s Good at the Liverpool Playhouse and Contact.com at the Park Theatre.

Charlie plays Sandra in Beautiful Thing. More information about the tour can be found here.

What was the last show you went to see?

I saw Miss Saigon on Saturday night. I won't get a chance to see anything until August and it was fantastic. Eva Noblezada was superb, as was Ethan Le Phong who was playing Thuy. 1

I went to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time last week, I thought it was sensational. 1

How many showtunes do you have on your iPod and what is your favourite?

Hundreds. My favourite would probably be something from Phantom of the Opera. 1

I’ve got lots and lots and lots on my iPod because Kiki [Brooks’ daughter] is a little showtunes bunny! We really like Miss Saigon. 1

What is the stagiest picture you have in your phone?

With Sir Derek Jacobi on location for Titanic:Blood & Steel in Serbia. He's an absolute gentleman. 1

Gerard with Biggins at the Adrian Mole press night in Leicester 1 – [Although the point should really go to Gerard!]

Who is the stagiest contact you have in your phone?

It's a very recent entry but it's got to be Biggins!. 1 [We wonder when you got that, Gerard?]

Is Sheridan Smith stagey? 1 [Yes Charlie, about as stagey as they come]

Sherlock or Hamlet?

Hamlet. It has better songs. 1

Ooh! I’m gonna go with Sherlock. 0

EastEnders or WestEnders?

EastEnders, especially now they've got Maria Friedman! 0

I’m going to say West Enders seeing as I am treading the boards at the moment! 1

Tell us a stagey joke

An E-flat, a G-flat & a B-flat walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry, we don't serve minors." 1

OK, so imagine I’ve got my hand on my head and I’m rocking out and going "bah da bah da" and I say "What’s this?"…. It’s a hairband!1

How many of the Strallen sisters can you name?

Scarlett, Summer, Zizi & Saskia. I trained with Summer… She borrowed some leg warmers once that she never gave back, that deserves a bonus point, right? 2 [Yes, yes it does]

Scarlett and Summer? 0.5

What is your favourite Shakespeare quote?

"Sing out, Louise!". 0

Oh god! I’m not very good at Shakespeare. I can’t think of one. 0

What are your theatre superstitions?…

Always do the first script read through in box splits, especially if it's a Chekhov. 0 [We think you’re lying]

I’m generally not a very superstitious person but I kind of quite like a dress run to not go as well, because then hopefully I’ll have a good show!? 0

And the winner is…

8/10 Gerard takes this round with an impressive eight out of ten. If he scrubs up on his Shakespeare he could well be challenging Biggins himself for the stagey king crown.

6.5/10 Not a bad effort from Charlie, six and a half puts her in second place in the stagey league, edging past last week's winner Catrin Stewart.