Best known for her role as a judge on ITV's "Britain's Got Talent" and as the UK correspondent for CBS America's "The Early Show," she was last seen in a West End musical in Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2003. Shrek the Musical reunites her with both Rob Ashford, who choreographed that production and is now co-directing Shrek with Jason Moore, and composer Jeanine Tesori. Holden has also been seen on British TV in "Kiss Me Kate," "Cutting It" and "Wild at Heart."
She will be joined by Richard Blackwood as Donkey. A regular on the comedy circuit, Blackwood was recently seen in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre alongside James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad. In 2007 he became the host of "RB’s Sunday School" on Choice FM. He has a range of TV credits including Anton in ITV's "Britannia High," BBC1's "Dani's House" and his own show on Channel 4, "The Richard Blackwood Show." Other stage credits include national tours of Roy Williams' Angel House and The Unexpected Guest, and The Brothers at the Hackney Empire.
Shrek the Musical is based on the story and characters from William Steig’s book "Shrek!" and the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation feature film "Shrek," the first chapter in the series of irreverent fairy tales. The Anglo-American creative team is led by directors Jason Moore and Rob Ashford and includes David Lindsay-Abaire (book and lyrics), Jeanine Tesori (music), Tim Hatley (scenic, costume and puppet design), Hugh Vanstone (lighting design), Peter Hylenski (sound design), and Josh Prince (choreography).
The box office will open to the general public on Oct. 1, 2010, and will be booking through Feb. 19, 2012. To register for priority booking and more details, visit www.shrekthemusical.co.uk.