Let It Shine contestant profiles: Who is Matt Thorpe?

Twitter: @mattthorpe86

From: London

Sings: If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys

Job: West End performer

When Matt comes out onto the stage he reveals that he starred in Green Day musical American Idiot in the West End. Not only that, but a quick Google reveals he was actually the lead role of Johnny in the theatre show.

Here’s a quick taste of Matt performing a Green Day/Ed Sheeran mash-up on the guitar:

His theatrical CV also shows that he started out singing and dancing on cruise ships before landing roles in touring productions of High School Musical 2 and Hairspray.

In the West End, he’s been a part of Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You and played Joe Pesci in Jersey Boys. He was also the understudy for Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys when he starred in the production from 2014 to 2016 – a role which he described in an interview with his local newspaper as “probably the biggest part in the West End today”. Crikey.

A side note, but his CV also states that he won’t perform nude. Always good to know.

Let It Shine airs at 7pm on Saturday January 21 on BBC1.