Munya Chawawa, Harry Enfield, Baga Chipz and more

The cast has been revealed for Channel 4’s satirical musical about Prince Andrew and the swirl of allegations against him.

As previously announced, Kieran Hodgson will take on the central role in the 60-minute show, which he also wrote.

The Two Doors Down star will be joined by comics Munya Chawawa as King Charles, and Jenny Bede playing Sarah Ferguson, Andrew's ex-wife.

Drag queen Baga Chipz will portray Baroness Thatcher, Harry Enfield will be Tony Blair and Emma Sidi will play Emily Mailtis, who conducted the car-crash BBC interview that sealed Andrew’s reputation.

The musical will cover the disgraced Duke of York’s life from his marriage to Ferguson to Virginia Giuffre’s allegations that he had sex with her in Ghislaine Maxwell’s house, when she was just 17 after she had been trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein.  Andrew, 62, has continually and strenuously denied the allegations. He settled a lawsuit she brought out of court in February for an undisclosed sum and no admission of liability.

It will feature original music by Freddie Tapner, who has previously worked on Nick Mohammed’s Mr Swallow shows about Dracula and Houdini, with tracks including I Nailed It – reflecting the Prince’s deluded belief the Newsnight interview had gone well.

Other songs include Will You Be My Ex-Wife, a romantic ballad sung between Andrew and Sarah Ferguson; Obey a stirring solo number in which Prince Charles reflects on royal scandals past and present; and Andrew’s rip-roaring finale You’re Always Gonna Need An Andrew.

Hodgson said: ‘The story of Prince Andrew is tragedy and farce rolled into one, so why not add "musical" for good measure? Some might find the prospect of writing and performing their first TV musical a tad daunting. Not me. I found it completely terrifying.

‘But we've pulled out all the stops, put every penny on screen and let rip at an institution that would perhaps prefer us to forget about all this. Also, I'm on a trampoline for a bit. Enjoy, world.’

The show is being made by Hat Trick Productions and will air this Christmas as part of the channel's 40th anniversary celebrations.

Executive producer Stu Mather said: ‘What better way to celebrate the festive season than with a hilarious musical, lampooning the country's most high-profile pizza-lover.

‘It has been a real thrill to assemble such a phenomenally talented cast for this all-singing, all-dancing (but no sweating) spectacular and we can’t wait for you to see it.’

Made by: Hat Trick
Produced by: Adam Reeve
Executive producers: Stu Mather and Jimmy Mulville
Associate producer: Kieran Hodgson
Commissioned by: Channel 4 commissioning editor Cimran Shah and head of entertainment and events, Phil Harris.

Published: 24 Nov 2022