Big Night of Musicals BBC broadcast date and details announced

Broadcast dates and details have been revealed for the major arena event Big Night of Musicals. 

Hosted by Jason Manford, the show, which took place last month, features a variety of major musicals presented on an epic scale. 

The BBC TV broadcast will now occur on Saturday 25 March, with the 90-minute piece set to feature the full cast of the hit musical Hamilton, who took to the stage for a television exclusive, while Helen George from Call The Midwife will feature in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I. Michael Ball’s performance from Aspects of Love will be shown, ahead of the eagerly anticipated West End revival. 

The casts of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda, We Will Rock You, Disney’s Newsies, Six, Ain’t Too Proud, Shrek and Mamma Mia! will also be broadcast, while completing the line-up will be Les Misérables, The Bodyguard, and Wicked.

During the arena event, Jason Manford gave some young musical theatre fans the chance of a lifetime by inviting them to join him on stage for a special performance. In addition, there was a star-studded celebration of the career of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, and a behind-the-scenes look at the touring show Heathers: The Musical.

In addition to the TV broadcast (set to begin at 7.50pm), on Sunday 26 March stage stars Layton Williams and Samantha Barks will present a two-hour radio show with even more content from the night – from 8pm to 10pm. This will then be available for 30 days on BBC Sounds, with the TV broadcast also set to be made available on BBC iPlayer.