Stars turn out for VIP night production of The Girls

The show at the Leeds Grand Theatre is the stage production inspired by the Calendar Girls film, which was in turn inspired by the women of Rylstone Women’s Institute in the Yorkshire Dales.

The show has been on at the Grand since November 14 but last night a number of special guests turned out for a special production. Former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, athletes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, news presenters Duncan Wood and Christine Talbot of Calendar, writer Kay Mellor and actress Gaynor Faye attended. Former Coronation Street actress Denise Welch and her husband Lincoln Townley also attended.

The Girls, created by Take That star Gary Barlow and award-winning writer Tim Firth, tells the story of the adventure that saw a band of close friends create a now infamous risqué calendar in 1999 to raise funds for charity. Barlow joined the stars on the red carpet and even posed for ‘selfies’.

The cast is led by Debbie Chazen, Sara Kestelman, Claire Machin, Claire Moore, Vivien Parry, Joanna Riding and Harriet Thorpe.