Former EastEnders actor John Partridge will be fresh from the Celebrity Big Brother house when he takes to the stage in Kent with the musical Chicago.

John, who is best known for his role as Christian Clarke in EastEnders, was one of 16 housemates that entered the CBB house last night.

His stage credits include Cats in the West End, Miss Saigon and A Chorus Line and was also a judge on BBC1's Over the Rainbow, and he will star as Billy Flynn at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford in February.

He will be joined by Hayley Tamaddon as Roxie Hart, who has just finished playing Andrea Beckett in Coronation Street and was also in Emmerdale. She was also the winner of the fifth series of ITV1's Dancing On Ice.

Playing Mama Morton will be 2013 X Factor winner Sam Bailey, who before the show had worked as a prison officer at HM Prison Gartree, and afterwards released two albums, Skyscraper and The Power of Love, which reached No.1 in the album charts.

Based on real life events back in the roaring 1920s, nightclub singer Roxie Hart shoots her lover and along with cell block rival, double-murderess Velma Kelly, they fight to keep from death row with the help of smooth talking lawyer, Billy Flynn.

Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, the show opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1997 and is currently playing in New York where it holds the record as the longest running musical revival.

The 2016 UK National Tour of Chicago will be produced by David Ian and Michael Watt in association with the Broadway producers Barry and Fran Weissler.

The show will be at the Orchard from Monday, February 29 to Saturday, March 5.

To book tickets or for details visit orchardtheatre.co.uk or call 01322 220000.