Learn about Alexandra Burke's stage work ahead of 'I'm Every Woman - The Chaka Khan Musical'

The X Factor winner and musical theatre star returns to the stage in I'm Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical in March 2026.

Summary

• Alexandra Burke won The X Factor in 2008
• She made her West End debut in The Bodyguard
• Other key shows include Sister Act; Chicago and Joseph
• She returns to the stage in I'm Every Woman - The Chaka Khan Musical in March 2026

Born in Islington, London in 1988 to a musical family, Alexandra Burke rose to fame as the winner of the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008. Her debut single, a cover of Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah" became the top-selling single of the year, and she released her debut album Overcome the following year.

Burke has recorded two further studio albums to date: Heartbreak on Hold (2012) and The Truth Is (2018). She is known for her contemporary R&B style, which also features elements of soul and pop. She performed with Beyoncé in the final of The X Factor and she supported the megastar on her I Am... world tour in 2009.

In 2017, Burke reached the final of the fifteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing with partner Gorka Marquez. She dazzled the judges, earning the most 10s (with a total of 32) in the show’s history at the time.

Burke made her feature film debut in 2023 in Pretty Red Dress, playing a performer auditioning for a Tina Turner-themed musical whose partner has recently been released from prison. She was nominated for Best Supporting Performance at the British Independent Film Awards.

Burke’s music career and musical theatre work have run in tandem since 2014. In 2026, Burke returns to the stage for a limited run in the new jukebox musical I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical. Read on to learn more about Burke’s stage work to date.

Book I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

The Bodyguard

Burke made her West End debut succeeding Beverley Knight (who had in turn replaced Heather Headley) in the romantic musical thriller based on the Whitney Houston film (with a score that features Houston’s back catalogue). She played superstar Rachel Marron, who falls in love with the bodyguard hired to protect her. Burke went on to tour the UK with the show the following year. She reprised the role a third time in the 2018-20 touring production.

Sister Act

Burke’s second musical was the 2016 touring production of the joyous Sister Act, in which she played nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier who finds herself hiding out in a convent. When Burke reprised the role in the West End in 2024, she told LondonTheatre.co.uk: “I’m definitely playing [Deloris] differently to what I did eight years ago, simply because I’ve changed as a person – I’m now in my thirties and it’s a very different take on the role. But I’m still having fun and being a bit of a goofball on stage.”

Chess

Following her show-stopping appearance on Strictly, Burke appeared at the London Coliseum in the first West End London revival of Chess since its debut in 1986, as part of a cast that included Michael Ball, Cassidy Janson, and Tim Howar. She played Svetlana, the wife of the Russian champion Anatoly Sergievsky, and performed the new song "He is a Man, He is a Child". LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer remarked that the production had “some serious star power… the musical values of this production are top-notch”.

Chicago

Later in 2018, Burke had the opportunity to show off the skills that she learned on Strictly in one of the most famous and challenging dance musicals of all: Chicago, with its iconic choreography by Bob Fosse. Burke played ditzy murderess Roxie Hart for a limited engagement. Her castmates included West End stalwarts Josefina Gabrielle as Velma Kelly and Mazz Murray as Mama Morton.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Burke returned to the stage in 2021 as the Narrator in a summer run of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice favourite at the London Palladium. Jac Yarrow reprised his acclaimed performance in the title role and Jason Donovan returned as Pharaoh. LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer admired her “inviting and sincere performance”.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Burke returned to the Palladium in 2022 for the annual pantomime, playing villain Mrs Blunderbore. Her co-stars included Julian Clary, Dawn French, and Nigel Havers. She also appeared in a different production of the same panto at the New Wimbledon Theatre in 2024.

The Addams Family

In summer 2025, Burke switched her usually upbeat persona for the elegantly gloomy demeanour of morbid matriarch Morticia Addams in the touring production of the musical version of The Addams Family. Her castmates included Ricardo Afonso as Gomez, Clive Rowe as Uncle Fester, and Lesley Joseph as Grandma.

I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical

Burke will once again have the chance to show off her diva chops in March 2026 when she plays real life singer Chaka Khan in a new jukebox musical. Known as the “Queen of Funk”, Khan’s career spans five decades and she is a 10-time Grammy winner. Following the London run at the Peacock Theatre, the production will embark on a short tour to Coventry and Eastbourne.

Says Burke: “Almost seventeen years ago, with my late mother by my side, I sang Chaka for my very first non-televised audition for The X Factor. To think that all these years later I’ve been given the opportunity to play the superstar that is Chaka Khan in the West End would have been simply unimaginable for me back then… This truly is a dream role for me, my first originating, and I’m still pinching myself wondering if I’m dreaming!”

Book I'm Every Woman - The Chaka Khan Musical tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Main photo credit: Alexandra Burke in a promotional photo for the Chaka Khan Musical. (Photo by Danny Kaan). Inset: Burke in The Bodyguard, Sister Act, Chicago, and Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. (Photos by Alessandro-Pinna and courtesy of productions).