Celeb goss 12th October 2016 by Paula Lyne
‘Slurring’ Ghost Star Sarah Harding Was Replaced Mid-Show By An Understudy
Fans said she was mixing up her lines and 'stumbling' on stage.
Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding may have just seen her most recent career move come to a messy end.
The singer is currently playing the lead role Molly in Ghost The Musical at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, but on Monday night she failed to re-appear after the interval of the evening performance. Instead she was replaced by an understudy.
Sarah returned to the role last month after an “upper respiratory tract infection” saw her unable to perform for several weeks. However since her comeback the singer has been plagued by bad reviews, with audience members criticising her for forgetting lines mid-song and for singing out of tune.
Absolutely tragic when the lead gets the words wrong in the most famous song from the show.. Sarah Harding in Ghost is a no from me
— Eleanor Wainwright (@eleanorw_23) September 17, 2016
Sarah Harding was just awful in Ghost the Musical! I can’t believe she got the part. So many talented performers could’ve smashed that role
— Lucy Horner (@Lucy_Horner) September 25, 2016
According one onlooker quoted in The Sun, Sarah was “slurring” her words and “stumbling” on stage for the first half of Monday night’s show.
Just been to see ghost and I’ve never heard anyone sing as bad as Sarah Harding
— Jordan Mia (@jordan_marshall) October 10, 2016
“There was one scene where she was speaking to her co-star Andy Moss and she started her line and he hadn’t even finished his,” audience member Sarah Whaling said.
Producers reportedly told the audience that Sarah was “indisposed” and that she would be replaced by understudy Kelly Maxwell following an extended 41-minute interval. One source blamed strong painkillers for Sarah’s troubles on stage, but aside from that no more information has emerged.
The singer tweeted an angry message yesterday, which appeared to have been directed at the various media reports surrounding Monday night’s events.
“Some people should learn to get thier [sic] facts right before making assumptions,” she wrote.
A spokesperson for the show said that Sarah would be returning to her role as normal for the rest of the week.