Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BACK TO WORK
As a singer, TV star and West End actress, Kimberley Walsh’s work has involved a lot of dressing up – so she made the most of lockdown by barely dressing at all.
The former Girls Aloud star had been due to star in new musical Sleepless when the pandemic hit.
Stuck at home for weeks as temperatures soared, she spent most of her days in a bikini – though she admits it had its downsides when it came to cooking.
Kimberley, 38, who lives in North London with property developer husband Justin Scott and sons Bobby, five, and Cole, three, says: “I barely wore clothes! My sister laughed every time she saw me, ‘Do you ever put clothes on?’ But there wasn’t much point.
“It was boiling hot, so I was like, ‘I’m going to get a tan!’ I lived in either bikinis or workout gear. I’d have my coffee on the balcony, do a workout, get in the shower, put on a bikini and play outside with the kids, water fights or whatever.
“I’d even cook in a bikini. It’s not so much fun if you get splashed by hot fat, to be honest. I realised it’s not the safest thing to do, but I liked that feeling of it being like a holiday.
“Because my job is usually all about getting dressed up, for me it was more of a novelty not having to and I really enjoyed it.”
But now it is back to the real world, clothes and all, as Kimberley is set to make history in the country’s first socially distanced theatre show.
Sleepless is based on Sleepless in Seattle, with Kimberley as Annie – played by Meg Ryan in the 1993 film – opposite Jay Mcguiness in Tom Hanks’ role as
Sam. The show was a week from opening when lockdown began, but now has the green light for August 25.
It will premiere at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre in West London, where audiences will be socially distanced and safety guidelines will be followed for cast and crew.
Audiences will be temperaturechecked on arrival and required to wear face masks, hand sanitiser will be available and all payments will be contactless. Kimberley says: “It’s exciting to be the first.
“Somebody has to start the ball rolling and it’s nice to pave the way. Of course it’ll be different, but it’s been such a hard time for the entertainment industry, so it’s a nice ray of hope for people to see that a show can actually be put on safely. “Because it’s a modern theatre it’s possible to remove seats so the audience can sit in small groups. There are big doors at the side to let the audience out properly, there are 20-plus toilets, a massive bar and outside waiting space.” Sleepless tells the heart-warming tale of Sam, who moves to Seattle with his 10-year-old son after his wife dies. When he tells his story on a radio