Life's a drag for new Hairspray star Phil Jupitus
London LiteUpdated 13:16pm on 2 Sep 2009
TV comic Phil Jupitus and Eighties pop singer Belinda Carlisle were unveiled today as the new stars of West End musical Hairspray.

Let us spray: Phill meets himself in Edna costume
The cross-dressing comedy is heading into the third year of its successful run at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Jupitus, team captain on BBC2's Never Mind The Buzzcocks, is in rehearsals for his turn as larger-than-life heroine Edna Turnblad, the part previously played by Michael Ball and Brian Conley.

Hair rasiing: Belinda Carlisle as Velma Von Tussle
The new-look line-up, which is due to begin performances on 26 October, also features Carlisle, who had a No 1 hit single in 1987 with Heaven Is A Place On Earth. She will take the stage as glamorous white supremacist Velma Von Tussle. Hairspray won four Olivier awards last year.
Reader views (2)
Musicals in London are really the best in the world. Congrats.
- João Paulo Chagas, Lisbon, Portugal, 04/09/2009 10:37
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Brian Conley has only just taken over from Michael Ball - in a blaze of publicity across the media - I thought he was settling in for a long-ish run.
How come the multi-talentless Jupitus is taking over so soon?
- Jargonaut, South London, 02/09/2009 16:49
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