Legendary play Dirty Dusting returning to North East, with 'Allo 'Allo and Coronation Street stars in lead roles

(l-r) Leah Bell, Vicky Entwistle and Vicki Michelle dressed ready for Dirty Dusting

Dirty Dusting, co-written by North East playwrights Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood, premiered at The Customs House in South Shields in 2003 and went on to be performed around the world.

Now, with audiences hungry for a return of theatre performances, the production is returning to its roots as part of a 26-date national tour featuring stars from popular TV shows.

It is the ninth time the play has been taken on a UK tour, with North East legs scheduled for Blyth Phoenix Theatre, The Playhouse Whitley Bay, and The Customs House.

(l-r) Leah Bell, Vicky Entwistle and Vicki Michelle are ready for Dirty Dusting

Vicki Michelle, who played waitress Yvette in the BBC sitcom Allo ‘Allo, and Vicky Entwistle, who portrayed Janice Battersby in Coronation Street, will join popular North East actor Leah Bell – who is also producing and directing the show – in Dirty Dusting’s ninth national tour this autumn.

"After what we have been through over the past 17 months, people are crying out for a good laugh, and Dirty Dusting provides that,” said Leah.

"In fact, theatres are approaching me to put the show in, hence we've had to add dates in January due to popular demand.”

On her fellow stars, she added: "We're delighted to have brought into the team Vicky and Vicki, both of whom are household names and actually starred, rather than appeared, in TV programmes that garnered millions of viewers."

(l-r) Andrew Green, Vicky Entwistle, Vicki Michelle and Leah Bell dressed ready for Dirty Dusting

Leah, described as ‘a hero of Geordie theatre’, is a stage and television actor and entertainer, was trained by the likes of Ken Dodd.

Her outings include performing in pantomime with legends David Jason and Bobby Thompson.

Vicki and Vicky said they were looking forward to touring the show with Leah.

"I read the script and fell about laughing. I can't wait to get on the road with Dirty Dusting, it'll be a fantastic laugh,” said Vicky Entwistle.

Vicki Michelle added: She said: "The script is hilarious and I've seen the fantastic responses on Facebook. It took me half a second to agreed to be in the show. Get your dusters ready, ladies."

Dirty Dusting, described as an ‘outrageous comedy’ about pensioners who get made redundant from their cleaning jobs and set up a telephone sex line on their last weekend at work, has been performed and toured around the globe, including in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK.

Support your Gazette and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest football stories and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.