The Wanted's Tom Parker to appear on Sunderland stage

It’s been announced that Tom Parker will be slicking back his hair and pulling on a leather jacket to play Danny Zuko in a new tour of Grease which will play Sunderland Empire next May.

The tour, which opens in March, will be Tom’s musical theatre debut and he’ll be joined on stage by Danielle Hope (Over the Rainbow winner) who plays Sandy, and Louisa Lytton (Strictly Come Dancing, EastEnders) who plays Rizzo.

During his time with The Wanted, Tom achieved two UK number 1’s and nine top 10 singles, as well as four Billboard 100 singles, with Glad You Came placing in the top five and selling over 900,000 records.

The band have had three platinum albums, two sold out arena tours, and three million singles sold in America. Tom is also a winner of BBC Radio 1’s Teen Choice Award and US People’s Choice Award with The Wanted.

Grease originally opened on Broadway in 1972 and went on to spawn the hit movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

The original high-school musical, it tells the story of a gang of teenagers from Rydell High and features tracks You’re The One That I Want, Grease Is The Word, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Sandy, Greased Lightnin’ and more.

This award-winning production originally opened in the West End in 1993 where it enjoyed a successful run of six years at the Dominion and Cambridge Theatres.

•Grease plays Sunderland Empire from May 1-6. Tickets available from the Box Office on High Street West, via the ticket centre 0844 871 3022* or www.ATGtickets.com/Sunderland

*calls cost up to 7p per minute plus standard network charges. Booking and transaction fees may apply to telephone and online bookings.