Helen Skelton, BBC’s Blue Peter presenter, appeared in two shows in London’s West End on the same night. Helen appeared in both Stomp at the Ambassadors theatre and in the award-winning musical We Will Rock You at the Dominion theatre all in aid of comic relief.
Apart from We Will Rock You being a comedy musical the link between Helen’s achievements and comedy value is somewhat tenuous, but it’s all in a good cause.
We Will Rock You London
Appearing in both shows in London is all part of seven challenges that Helen is attempting to overcome to raise money for Comic Relief, a charity which helps people here in the U.K. and in Africa, particularly young people and children.
Helen’s first challenge, attempting a try, or rather trying an attempt at a conversion at the Six Nations rugby match between England and Scotland ended in disappointment. Despite England triumphing over Scotland 38 – 18 at Twickenham, the home of English rugby, Helen missed her kick by inches in front of a crowd of 82,000.
Helen has earned a deserved reputation as being a bit of a daredevil since joining the Blue Peter team in 2008, amongst other stunts she has kayaked down the Amazon, walked a hire wire above Battersea Power Station and trekked to the South Pole.
Her West End debut was equally scary but a complete success. Helen first appeared in the percussion show Stomp playing the dustbin. For those that haven’t seen the show it is an exciting improvisation of dance and music, mainly percussion using everyday objects such as drainpipes, dustbin lids and the like. The Stomp team took part in the closing ceremony of London’s 2012 Olympics.
Helen admitted that she loved appearing on the West End stage. From the Ambassadors theatre Helen took the short trip down the road to the Dominion theatre in Tottenham Court Road, home to the Queen musical comedy We Will Rock You, written by Ben Elton and featuring 30 of Queen’s greatest hits, none probably greater than Bohemian Rhapsody. Helen joined the cast of We Will Rock You for the finale in front of a packed audience to sing aforementioned Bohemian Rhapsody. Whilst no Freddie Mercury, Helen gave a good account of herself. Helen said: ‘I just want to inspire as many people as possible to do something challenging this Red Nose Day. I’ve seen firsthand how Comic Relief makes a big difference and changes people’s lives for the better, both here in the UK and in Africa.’
A worthy cause indeed and Helen’s remaining challenges include taking to the skies with the Red Arrows and attempting to set a new world record. To catch Helen’s exploits and see how she gets on they are being screened every Thursday for the next six weeks on Blue Peter at 5.45 p.m. on CBBC billed as Helen’s magnificent 7. Here at Shows in London we wish her well.
If you want to catch a performance of either Stomp or We Will Rock You, or indeed both as Helen did, then you can book your tickets at ShowsinLondon.co.uk or call one of our friendly team of experts on 0871 976 976 7.
