She wants to be a west end star after her success on Strictly
KIMBERLEY WALSH wants to head back to the West End – to show off all the fancy footwork she learned on Strictly Come Dancing.
The Girls Aloud singer, who came runner-up to gymnast Louis Smith in Saturday’s final, ended a stint as Princess Fiona in Shrek: The Musical in May.
She told TV Biz: “I’ve always loved musical theatre but Shrek unleashed the passion in me again.
“I do really feel like a lot of the things I’ve learned on Strictly Come Dancing will come in handy.
“I would definitely consider being in the West End more in the future.”
Kimberley, who is also The Sun’s Beauty columnist, is such a fan of musical theatre that her new debut solo album is devoted to classic hits.
Centre Stage will be released in February but preview snippets are already available on iTunes.
She said: “It comprises songs from the musicals reworked and brought into this century.
“It’s turned out really well and I feel really inspired and hopefully it’ll be a success.
“I felt like I’d done so much work with my voice as well — so I want to be able to showcase it.”
But before she can head back for a second role in London’s theatreland, she has the Girls Aloud reunion tour to do.
She and bandmates Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Sarah Harding will be touring the UK and Ireland in February and March.
While the others are flat-out getting fit for the show’s energetic dance routines and skimpy costumes, Kimberley is already sorted thanks to four months of gruelling dance training for Strictl
She said: “I haven’t lost weight but I’ve toned up, which is nice, because you’re not even trying.
“I’ll be at a pretty good fitness level now considering the amount of hours I have put in. I’ll definitely be fighting fit coming back for the tour.
“It won’t be a walk in the park but it’ll be easier than usual.”
Girls Aloud have so far refused to commit to staying together after the reunion tour. Kimberley said: “We haven’t made any plans after the tour. We’re going to see how that goes and how we feel then.”
If the group disbands to focus on solo projects again, Kimberley wouldn’t hesitate in recommending her bandmates to follow in her footsteps and bag themselves a place on BBC1’s ballroom hit.
She said: “I’d tell the other girls to go for it. It’s such an incredible experience, it’s been amazing.”
But she warned: “You have to be prepared to really embrace it. You have to embrace it for months. If you want to do well and improve, it’s really hard.
“If you do put the time in it’s worth it in the end.”
But she added: “I’m bruised and I dislocated one of my ribs.
“This Christmas I’ll be having mince pies and relaxing.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz2G0btjKBE
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On My Own, Falling Slowly, One Day I'll Fly Away, Defying Gravity. She's covering some of the greats.
in that pic!!