Ruthie Henshall joins the cast of Billy Elliot the Musical

Olivier award-winning actor Ruthie Henshall is set to join the cast of Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre from 12 May 2014.

Elton John and Lee Hall's musical 'Billy Elliot' is about to go into its ninth year of performances at the Victoria Palace Theatre, and has been seen by over 9.5 million people world wide. The show has been presented on Broadway, where it won the Tony Award for Best New Musical, as well as productions in Sydney, Melbourne, Chicago, Toronto and Seoul, South Korea.

Ruthie Henshall will take over the role of dance teacher Mrs Wilkinson, the role created by Julie Walters in the 2000 film, also directed by Stephen Daldry. Henshall has taken on many iconic roles in the West End as well as Broadway, including Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart in 'Chicago', Marion Halcome in 'The Woman in White', Nancy in 'Oliver!', Polly in 'Crazy for You' and Amalia in 'She Loves Me' for which she won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She is also known for her TV work, including roles in 'The Case', 'Law and Order' as well as being a judge on ITV's 'Dancing on Ice'.

Henshall will join the cast on 12 May 2014, alongside Chris Grahmson who will play Billy's brother Tony, and Barnaby Meredith who returns to play Older Bill. Deka Walmsley will continue to play Billy's Dad, alongside Ann Emery as Grandma, a role she created in the original 2005 cast. Claudia Bradley and David Muscat will takeover the roles of Dead Mum and Mr Braithwaite respectively.

Billy Elliot is presented in London by Universal Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Tiger Aspect and is based on the Universal Pictures/ Studio Canal film. The production features scenic design by Ian MacNeil, the associate director is Julian Webber, costume design is by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher and sound design by Paul Arditti. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Koch, and choreography by Peter Darling. The show originally opened on 11 May 2005 following previews from 31 March 2005, and is currently booking at the Victoria Palace Theatre until 16 May 2015.