As the curtain went up and Summer Strallen sang her first notes as Von Trapp governess Maria in the West End musical The Sound Of Music, she had some special fans among the London Palladium audience.
Watching the 23-year-old actress were her Hollyoaks former castmates Zoe Lister, Carly Stenson, Gerard McCarthy, and Chris Fountain. The friends wished Summer good luck with a group hug before the performance, which earned a standing ovation for the delighted star.
Summer joined Hollyoaks in October to play an aspiring actress in a storyline masterminded by Andrew Lloyd-Webber. The music empresario worked closely with Channel 4 to introduce his hand-picked replacement for How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria winner Connie Fisher into the TV series.
And he is clearly pleased with the result. "She was fantastic. We are very proud of her," said Lord Lloyd-Webber after the curtain came down. "It's a corny thing to say but we had the most fantastic spring with Connie and I think we're going to have a glorious Summer."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
