Zoe Birkett
![]() |
Zoe Birkett | |
---|---|
Born | Consett,County Durham,England | 16 June 1985
Genres | Pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer, actress, presenter |
Instrument | Vocals |
Zoe Birkett(born 16 June 1985) is an English singer andmusical theatreperformer.
Birkett was the highest placing female contestant onPop Idolin 2001 and later appeared onBig Brother.Her first single,Treat Me Like A Lady,was released in 2003 and charted in theUK Top 40.
Since 2009, Birkett has performed inWest End theatre.She has performed inThriller Live,Moulin Rouge! The Musical,The Bodyguard,Priscilla Queen of the Desertand other notable productions.
Career
[edit]Early career andPop Idol
[edit]Birkett was born inConsett,a town inCounty Durham,and began attending stage school from the age of three.[1]She had had hopes of being a performer,[2]and trained at the Amanda McGlynn Academy inMiddlesbroughand the Lorraine Murray Dance School.[3]
In 2002, Birkett finished fourth on thefirst seriesofPop Idol,behindWill Young,Gareth GatesandDarius Danesh.She was the highest placed female in the contest. During the competition, she performed such songs asWhitney Houston's "One Moment in Time","I Will Always Love You"and"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)";Aretha Franklin's "I Say a Little Prayer";ABBA's "Thank You For the Music" andJudy Garland's "Get Happy".She later performed as the warm-up act onPop Idolwinners Will Young's and Gareth Gates' tour where she performed to over 250,000 people. She also recorded three songs for the triple platinumPop Idol: The Big Band Album,which charted at number 1 in theUK Albums Chart.
Recording artist
[edit]In 2003, Birkett signed arecording contractwith 19 Recordings[4]and released one single, "Treat Me Like a Lady", in January 2003. The track was co-written by fellowPop IdolcontestantSarah Whatmoreand peaked at number 12 in theUK Singles Chart.[5]Birkett later departed from herrecord labeland pursued an alternative career in musical theatre.[6]
Big Brother
[edit]On 14 July 2014, Birkett entered theBig Brotherhouse as one of three new housemates.[7][8]Upon their arrival, the new housemates were unaware that the public would be voting to decide who would be allowed to stay in the competition. On 18 July, Birkett was saved from eviction and received the highest number of votes from the public. However she later left the competition on Day 58 after being unsuccessful in another public vote.[9]
Theatre career
[edit]Birkett's first roles were inpantomimeand touring productions such asIn Town Tonight,What A Feeling,West End RocksandCover Girls.[10]
Since 2009, Birkett has performed inWest End theatreand was initially cast inPriscilla Queen of the Desertuntil 2011. She then performed as a lead singer inGarrick Theatre's 2011 production ofRespect La Diva,[11][12].
In 2012, Birkett became theleading ladyofThriller Live.She was also later cast as anunderstudyforThe Bodyguard's leading ladyAlexandra Burke.In this role, she was responsible for matinée performances.[citation needed].
In 2021, Birkett performed as Arabia inMoulin Rouge! The MusicalatPiccadilly Theatre.[13]She later performed in the main female lead role of Satine and made her debut on May 10, 2022. She was featured in theDave MalloymusicalThe Witchesin 2023.[citation needed].
References
[edit]- ^Hubbard, Michael (24 January 2003)."Zoe Birkett hopes for Idol success".BBC News.Retrieved21 April2010.
- ^Hubbard, Michael.Zoe Birkett hopes for Idol success,BBC,24 January 2003. Accessed on 27 May 2008
- ^"Interview with Zoe Birkett".Londontheatre1. 20 January 2012.Retrieved22 August2014.
- ^"iTunes – Music – Treat Me Like a Lady – EP by Zoe Birkett".Itunes.apple. 13 January 2003.Retrieved27 February2012.
- ^Roberts, David. Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums. Guinness World Records Ltd 17th edition (2004), p. 60ISBN0-85112-199-3
- ^Neil, Beth.Where Are They Now?,Daily Mirror,30 September 2006. Accessed on 27 May 2008.
- ^"Pop Idol's Zoe Birkett Joins Big Brother: Reality Stars Who Kept On Chasing The Spotlight".Yahoo! News.Retrieved22 August2022.
- ^Welsh, Daniel (15 July 2014)."'Big Brother': Three New Housemates - Including Former 'Pop Idol' Star Zoe Birkett - Join Armageddon Week, After Marlon Is Evicted ".HuffPost UK.Retrieved22 August2022.
- ^Westbrook, Caroline (1 August 2014)."Zoe's out of the Big Brother house".Metro.Retrieved22 August2022.
- ^[1]Archived16 April 2010 at theWayback Machine
- ^"RESPECT La Diva".OfficialLondonTheatre.12 September 2011.Retrieved31 October2017.
- ^Bassett, Kate (29 March 2009)."Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Palace Theatre, London".The Independent.UK.Archivedfrom the original on 7 May 2022.Retrieved14 July2010.
- ^Russo, Gillian (16 September 2021)."'Moulin Rouge!' announces West End casting ".London Theatre Guide.Retrieved17 November2021.