01 November 2023 , 20:01
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ITV The Chase star Bradley Walsh has been confirmed as this year's host of the Royal Variety Performance at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall.
The show will comprise of a number performances including one from legendary singer Cher, Britain's Got Talent winner Viggo Venn, comedy sketches and theatre productions, in front of members of the Royal family. The annual live show will also celebrate 100 years of Disney productions which will feature performances from the cast of The Lion King, Frozen, Aladdin, Hercules and Beauty & The Beast. And iconic singer Cher will perform a single from her new Christmas album.
Bradley Walsh will host this year's Royal Variety PerformanceBradley will take over the hosting duties from Not Going Out funnyman Lee Mack who presented the show in 2022. David Walliams, Greg Davies, Miranda Hart, Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Beckett, Jason Manford and Alan Carr have all been selected as hosts in recent years.
Other guest stars lined up to perform are pop rock band McFly, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary, eighties heartthrob Rick Astley, Paloma Faith and Zara Larsson. And Game Of Throne actress Hannah Waddingham will perform alongside the English National Opera. Audience members will be treated to a number of other performances by world-class pianist Lang Lang and former Spice Girl Melanie C, who will pay tribute to the late theatre producer Bill Kenwright, who passed away earlier this month.
The National Anthem will be led by The Fanfare Trumpeters of The Band of the Welsh Guards and the National Youth Choir. Speaking of hosting this year's show, Bradley, 63, said: "I am so excited to be presenting this year's show. It’s been 30 years this year since I first performed at The Royal Variety Performance, so what an absolute honour to be hosting. The line-up is incredible and I can’t wait for you all to see what I have in store."
Bradley Walsh breaks down in tears filming 'emotional' ITV show with son Barney
In addition to the theatre performances, the West End cast from Crazy For You and powerhouse singer Beverley Knight, along with the cast of Sister Act will also take to the stage. Bradley Walsh recently opened up about his 'seriously bad' health condition during an interview with GB News host Eamonn Holmes. Bradley revealed that he suffers from an eye condition called blepharitis – which causes swollen, itchy eyelids and often results in the sufferer's eyes being completely stuck together when they wake in the morning.
He said: "People don’t realise I have seriously bad blepharitis. I have to take one pill a day for it or I really struggle. I am going to need my eyes operated on at some point to sort it out. So many times, people have commented on how I look. But they don’t realise. If I take medication though, I'm fine." And sharing an update on other health issues back in 2020, Bradley said he felt "lucky" after managing to get his cholesterol levels down as doctors warned him of the 'silent killer'. At the time, Bradley said: "I was a time bomb. I was quite lucky in regards to the calcium test but my doctor said I produce too much cholesterol. It’s a silent killer. I thought, 'Oh crikey, I’m gonna be bang in trouble here if I don’t lose the weight and start dealing with this'."