Gareth Gates heading to Bikini Bottom to join the cast of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

Gareth Gates will have a starring role in the UK production of SpongeBob The Musical (Picture: Barry Martin)

Gareth Gates will be heading to Bikini Bottom to transform into ill-mannered octopus Squidward after the cast was announced for the UK production of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical.

Based on the long-running animated Nickelodeon series, which started all the way back in 1999, the musical follows the citizens of the underwater city who discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home unless they act fast.

With lives hanging in the balance and all hope seemingly lost, SpongeBob and his friends must come together to save the fate of their undersea world.

Former Pop Idol runner-up Gareth will be playing the clarinet-playing cephalopod, who works the cashier at the Krusty Krab and also lives next door to Spongebob.

Joining him will be Lewis Cornay as the titular character, Drag Race UK star Divina de Campo as Plankton, Irfan Damani as Patrick and Chrissie Bhima as Sandy.

Other beloved characters will be played by Richard J Hunt (Mr Krabs), Sarah Freer (Pearl) and Eloise Davies (Mrs Puff).

SpongeBob SquarePants is hitting the stage again three years after it was forced to shut on Broadway (Picture: Caption: Paramount/Kobal/REX)

Opening on Broadway in 2017, the musical picked up 12 Tony Award nominations in its first year, but had to close when the pandemic hit in 2020.

It will now be touring the UK, opening in Southampton on April 5, before visiting Birmingham, Bradford, Oxford, Dublin, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff, Blackpool, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, Norwich, Leicester and Aberdeen ahead of spending five weeks over the summer at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall prior to visiting Plymouth.

The musical has original tunes from the likes of Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Sara Bareilles, as well as Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.

Divina will be playing Plankton in the production (Picture: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)

Gareth made it all the way to the final of Pop Idol in 2002, before going on to launch his music career.

In 2009 he moved into musical theatre, playing the title role in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and later played Marius in Les Miserables.

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He also took the roles of Eddie in the musical Loserville, Warner in Legally Blonde in 2012 and Dean in Boogie Nights the Musical in Concert in 2013.

However, he is not currently set to appear in Bradford, Manchester, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, Leicester, Aberdeen, London and Plymouth for the SpongeBob tour.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical runs from 26 July to 27 August. Tickets are now on sale.

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