A HEAD-turning cast has been announced for the UK tour of Legally Blonde that visits Southampton this autumn.

EastEnders’ Rita Simons, UK representative in the Eurovision Song Contest Lucie Jones, and Bill Ward, star of Coronation Street and Emmerdale, are to star in a major new UK tour of the smash-hit Broadway and West End musical which comes to Mayflower Theatre from 14-18 November 2017.

Legally Blonde The Musical also has two dogs in the cast, a Chihuahua called Bruiser and another called Rufus, a big, brutish, dog that only its mother could love!

Bruiser is already cast and will be on the road but producers have decided to hold auditions for ‘Rufus’ in every town and city on the tour...watch this space for more details later!

Legally Blonde The Musical is an all singing, all dancing romantic comedy, a fun-filled, feel-good pink fest. College sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods, doesn’t take no for an answer. When her boyfriend dumps her for someone more serious, Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books and heads for Harvard Law Schoiol. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.

Based on the Reese Witherspoon film, Legally Blonde The Musical earned seven Tony nominations and 10 Drama Desk Award nominations during its Broadway run. In the UK it was nominated for 5 Laurence Olivier Awards winning 3 including Best New Musical, and was nominated for 8 Whatsonstage Awards winning 4 including Best Musical.

Rita Simons (Paulette Bonafonte) is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in BBC’s EastEnders.

Lucie Jones (Elle Woods) - who was a finalist in the 2009 series of The X Factor - is currently playing Maureen in the 20th anniversary UK tour of Rent. Her previous theatre credits include: Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (Leicester Curve); Molly in Ghost (Asian Tour); Victoria in American Psycho (The Almeida); Meatloaf in We Will Rock You (International Tour).

Bill Ward (Professor Callahan) is best known for his work on two of the country’s leading soaps. He has just finished three years in Emmerdale, playing farmer James Barton for over 300 episodes. Previously, he played the builder Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street, also for 300 episodes.

Tickets for Legally Blonde (Tuesday 14- Saturday 18 November 2017) are on sale from the Mayflower (02380 711811).