Heart Musicals announced as exclusive broadcast partner for WhatsOnStage Awards

Heart Musicals has been announced as the exclusive broadcast partner for the 26th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards, which take place at The London Palladium this weekend.

The awards, now in their 26th year and returning to the venue for a third time, are the only major UK theatre awards decided by theatregoers. This year’s ceremony will be held on Sunday 8 March.

Heart Musicals will broadcast live from backstage at the venue between 7pm and 10pm, during the ceremony. The station will feature interviews with winners as they leave the stage, alongside numbers from nominated and winning shows’ albums alongside tracks from much-loved stage and screen musicals.

The programme will be presented by Lindsey Russell, who hosts Heart’s Early Breakfast Show on weekday mornings. Russell said: “It’s been another brilliant year of theatre and I can’t wait to celebrate the best of the West End at the legendary London Palladium. I’m looking forward to chatting to all the winners backstage and bringing Heart Musicals listeners all the excitement from the awards.”

Alex Wood, editor-in-chief at WhatsOnStage, said: “We’re thrilled to be linking up with Heart Musicals as exclusive broadcast partner for this year’s WhatsOnStage Awards. As an audience-voted awards with national scope, it’s only right that listeners can tune in and hear first-hand from the exciting talents staging brilliant theatre night after night. Bring on Sunday!”

This year’s nominees include Paddington The Musical, which leads with 14 nominations. Other nominated musicals include Evita, The Great Gatsby and Hercules. In the play categories, nominated performers include Jonathan Bailey, Ncuti Gatwa, Tom Hiddleston and Rosamund Pike, with productions including The Importance of Being Earnest, Much Ado About Nothing, Stereophonic and Inter Alia also recognised.

The ceremony is co-produced with creative directors Alex Parker and Damian Sandys and will include live performances accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra. Awards will be presented across categories voted for by theatregoers.

Hosting duties will be shared by Gina Murray and Mazz Murray, who return after presenting the 2025 ceremony and will open the event with a performance.

Performances during the ceremony will include numbers from 13 Going On 30 the Musical, Hercules the Musical, Paddington The Musical, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and Hope Mill Theatre’s revival of Young Frankenstein. A further musical revival performance and additional casting announcement are also planned.

Voting for the awards closed last month and final tickets for the ceremony remain on sale.

The Heart Musicals broadcast from backstage at the WhatsOnStage Awards will air on Sunday 8 March from 7pm on DAB and Global Player.