Alexandra Burke to star in UK tour of The Bodyguard

Alexandra Burke will rejoin the cast of the Olivier Award-winning musical The Bodyguard, which embarks on a new UK tour at the end of the year.

Based on the 1992 Oscar-nominated film from Lawrence Kasdan which starred Whitney Houston, the piece opened at the Adelphi Theatre in 2012, starring Heather Headley, where it won Best New Musical at the WhatsOnStage Awards and was nominated for four Olivier Awards.

It toured for 18 months in 2015, before returning to the West End at the Dominion Theatre in 2016 with Beverley Knight and then Burke in the lead role. Our review of the production described the show as a "glitzy, energetic night out."

Telling the story of the amorous relationship between superstar Rachel Marron and her bodyguard Frank Farmer, the show includes classic tunes such as "Queen of the Night", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "I Will Always Love You". Further casting for the new tour is to be announced.

The new UK tour will open at Glasgow Theatre Royal in December before touring to Hull, Southend, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Bristol, Cardiff, Norwich, Canterbury, Southampton, Nottingham and Wolverhampton, with further dates to be released. Burke will not feature in the show in Southampton, Nottingham or Wolverhampton.

It's a busy year for X Factor winner Burke – whose stage credits also include Sister Act and the recent revival of Chess – as it was recently announced that she will join the West End cast of Chicago as Roxie Hart later this month.