Radio and TV star Zoe Ball will host ITV1 and ITVX’s forthcoming reality casting series Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream, which will find actors to play the roles of Sophie and Sky in the long-running West End hit Mamma Mia!
Judges will include comedian Alan Carr, singer-songwriter Jessie Ware, Dreamgirls Olivier winner Amber Riley, and Frozen star Samantha Barks.
Produced by Thames (a Fremantle label), the series, which launches later this year on ITV1 and ITVX, will be held in the Greek islands. Viewers will have front-row seats as the contestants are judged and mentored by guest industry stars. Those vying for the two roles will be guided through workshops in singing, dancing, and acting.
The competition will culminate in a live grand finale, broadcast from a theatre in London’s West End. The actors will subsequently join the cast at the Novello Theatre, where the musical will celebrate 25 years in the West End April 6, 2024.
Glee star Riley says, “I’m really excited to be a part of such an incredible project. Musical theatre has played such an integral role in my growth as a performer. I am all too happy to share what I’ve learned and to cheer on the world’s next biggest stars! Mamma Mia, here we go!”
Barks, who was a runner-up in the BBC-TV series I’d Do Anything, adds, “For sure, they are going to go on a really hard journey—it’s going to be so much fun, but it’s going to be like the movie! We’re going to be in Greece, the sun will be shining, and I cannot wait for you guys to watch it. I just feel so honored to get to be on the judging panel because I know what they’re going through, I’ve been there before, and I can’t wait to guide them and challenge them, and be there for them.”
With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast.
Mamma Mia! originally opened in London at the Prince Edward Theatre April 6, 1999, before transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre in 2004, and then to the Novello Theatre, where it continues, in 2012. The tale of a mother, a daughter, and three possible dads on a Greek island paradise played 14 years on Broadway, opening at the Winter Garden Theatre in 2001 prior to transferring to the Broadhurst in 2013.
The reality competition is executive-produced by Amelia Brown, Charlie Irwin, and Ashley Whitehouse for Thames (a Fremantle label) and Judy Craymer for Littlestar. The show is commissioned by Katie Rawcliffe, head of Entertainment Commissioning at ITV; Lily Wilson, commissioning editor for ITV; and Louise Major, commissioning editor for ITV.
