Gareth Gates to star in new Footloose: the Musical tour

Footloose will embark on a new tour starring Gareth Gates as Willard, it has been announced.

The tour will commence in Wimbledon on 24 April 2020, before visiting Birmingham, Barnstaple, Sunderland, Llandudno, Aberdeen, Brighton, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Malvern, Blackpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with further venues to be announced. Tickets for the tour are on sale now.

Based on the 1980s film of the same name about a city where dancing and rock music are banned, the musical is directed by Racky Plews, with choreography from Matt Cole, musical supervision by Mark Crossland and design by Sara Perk. It features numbers including "Holding Out for a Hero", "Almost Paradise" and "Footloose". Further casting is to be announced.

Gates, who previously appeared in the show in 2017, said: "I'm thrilled to be back playing the role of Willard in the 2020 UK tour of Footloose. I had so much fun the first time around that I jumped at the chance to play such an exciting role again. I was born in 1984, the year Footloose the movie was first released; I used to watch the movie lots as a kid not knowing some years later I'd be playing the ‘cowboy that can't dance' on stages up and down the country. I'm a terrible dancer, so it's pretty much life imitating art!"