In another example of a television star taking to the boards, Claire Sweeney is to replace Denise van Outen, herself a well-known small-screen personality, in Chicago at the Adelphi. Van Outen has made a great success of her role as Roxie Hart, and Sweeney will bring considerable charm to the role. Best-known for her acting in the long running soap opera "Brookside," she was also a popular contestant on "Celebrity Big Brother" and has won various television contracts since then.

The producers of Chicago are proving themselves as skilful as those of Art in coming up with interesting casting for this long-running production (it opened in November 1997): for example, currently playing Mama Morton, the prison governor, is Alison Moyet, the 1980s pop star, while past male stars have included Henry Goodman (currently in the last two weeks of Feelgood at the Garrick) and French heart-throb Sacha Distel.

Claire Sweeney begins playing Roxie Hart on Dec. 3.