The Wanted star Jay McGuiness reveals why musicals are "a safer way of getting attention" than being in a boyband

While Jay McGuiness is best known for a run of 2010s club bangers and perhaps the most-loved jive in Strictly history, he is, in fact, more at home under the roof of a West End theatre.

The Wanted singer has appeared in many a major musical since 2019, from the UK tour of &Juliet to the London debut of Big the Musical – where he was praised for "charming" and "starry-eyed" version of Tom Hanks's original role.

Now, he's heading back to the stage again, to star as Iker in the world premiere concert of Sea Witch – a brand-new retelling of The Little Mermaid. Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, McGuiness said starring in musicals was him "reverting to type" and going back to his performing arts roots.

"It was always something that I loved. It always felt like a safe way of getting attention, because everyone on some level, likes a little bit of attention. But in the first year of auditioning, one of my auditions was for a big record label boy band, and obviously that just took me down that path, and I loved that a lot.

"But I think I'm definitely reverting to type in that I am back on stage, but in in a 'telling a story way', versus the 'wearing skinny jeans and trying to look cool way'."

He compared it to his days in The Wanted, which he called "an authentic, raw exposition of yourself".

"When you're up there, making jokes or talking about how happy you are to be there and that your parents are in the crowd, all those are very close to Jay the person. With musicals, it's not that at all. It's like you've been given a task, and you've got to tell this story and the only thing that soothes you is if you do it really well."

McGuiness made it clear too that "Jay the person" is far removed from his new role of Iker, who he described as "a nationalist, and he's got a lot of that army pride – I think I'm a bit more of a hippie, but that's fun to play".

The Sea Witch is a prequel to the Little Mermaid based on the book by Sarah Henning. Telling the story of the fairy-tale villain, it follows Evie, a witch surviving in a world where magic is outlawed. When her fate collides with Annemette, a mermaid with a secret of her own, both are driven toward a reckoning that will reshape their futures forever.

Speaking about the story with McGuiness, there are definitely links to be made with Wicked, as the origin story of another iconic villain. Yet the singer made it clear that this story can definitely stand on its own and actually has much closer links with the romantasy genre.

"I can see so many parallels with Wicked and this musical is definitely all about the interplay between these two really powerful women of different generations and different classes, but it massively draws on this new romantasy stuff.

"If you read the ACOTAR series, or if you love Bridgerton, then this might be in your wheelhouse. And then this crossover does exist with people that love romantasy and shows like Six – so if that's you then you can hold on to your ticket really tightly."

The show is first coming to the West End for just two concerts on the 1st March with McGuiness joined by West End stars Michelle Visage, Natalie Paris and Mazz Murray. The cast has hopes for a longer theatre run, which McGuiness is eager to be a part of.

As a self-confessed "big fantasy nerd" he called the show a dream to work on: "The hope is that this is sort of the first splash so people in the genre can start getting obsessed with the songs and posting their covers, and then that would springboard into a full run.

"And I would absolutely love to be a part of that."

The Sea Witch is playing two shows at Theatre Royal Drury Land on 1st March, you can still buy tickets at London Theatre Direct.

Buy The Sea Witch tickets at London Theatre Direct

Make sure you also take a look at the best West End shows.