Burn Gorman Named as Oliver!’s Bill Sikes???

Football Factory star Danny Dyer may indeed have done himself out of a job by rubbishing I’d Do Anything (See The Goss, 29 Apr 2008). According to the Daily Mail, the role of Bill Sikes in Cameron Mackintosh’s upcoming revival of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane has now gone to Burn Gorman, rather than Dyer.

No official announcement has yet been made, but if the casting does come to pass, while it may be Gorman’s musical debut, it won’t be his first go at Charles Dickens. He appeared in the 2005 BBC adaptation of Bleak House. Gorman’s other screen credits include Torchwood, Layer Cake, Colour Me Kubrick and the upcoming Bonekickers. On stage, he’s been seen in Mark Ravenhill’s Pool (no water) and last month’s Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat cycle.

Oliver! opens on 14 January 2009 (previews from 12 December 2008), starring Rowan Atkinson as Fagin and the winners of the current BBC One casting competition, I’d Do Anything, in the roles of Oliver and Nancy (See News, 26 Mar 2008).