Linzi Hateley

Linzi Hateley stars as Mrs Bird in Paddington The Musical in the West End at Savoy Theatre.

Born in 1970 in Birmingham, Linzi Hateley is an Olivier Award-nominated actress, best known for originating the title protagonist in Carrie. In 2021, she played the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, reprising the role she first played 30 years ago.

Growing up, Hateley expressed a keen interest in performing, training at Italia Conti. As a teenager, she led the cast in the stage adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie in Stratford-upon-Avon, which later transferred to Broadway. Unfortunately, the Broadway transfer did not receive a warm reception, closing after 16 previews and five performances and going down as one of the most expensive Broadway flops of all time.

Hateley’s career skyrocketed in the early nineties though, when she was cast as the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She starred alongside Jason Donovan who was in the title role, and received an Olivier Award nomination for her performance.

Hateley has appeared in original London casts of The Secret Garden as Martha and Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre as Winifred Banks. She has also played Nancy in Oliver!, Eponine and Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables and Roxie Hart in Chicago.

More recently, she has starred in Mamma Mia! playing the role of Donna Sheridan on three separate occasions. In 2021, Hateley returned to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium, playing the Narrator at select performances.