Former EastEnders star Sid Owen has pulled out from a new musical inspired by the spirit of the West End in the Sixties even before rehearsals began.
But fellow EastEnder Aaron Sidwell, 24, who played Steven Beale in the show, stepped into the breach as work on Carnaby Street The Musical began at the Hackney Empire today.
The troubled production is the 16-year dream of Soho-raised Carl Leighton-Pope, who produces music stars such as Michael Buble and Bryan Adams.
Mr Leighton-Pope said Owen had simply had second thoughts about returning to the UK from California where is now based. “He had agreed everything but then he phoned me up and said, I don’t want to leave LA.”
He has also been forced to stop using the Rolling Stones hit, Let’s Spend the Night Together, after band members objected. He said there was a “misunderstanding” over rights for the musical features around 30 hits from the Sixties.
But he said: “It’s 16 years since I first had the idea for Carnaby Street…so this is not going to stop anything now.”
Carnaby Street The Musical runs at the Hackney Empire from April 6 to 14 before a UK tour.
