Humax TV Tonight: Jason Manford hosts Big Night Of Musicals by the National Lottery

Big Night of Musicals is on BBC One tonight at 7.50pm

Jason Manford hosts a glittering musical celebration on BBC One with spectacular performances and special guests including Beverley Knight, Nicole Scherzinger and Alfie Boe.

Filmed in front of an audience of 12,000 at Manchester’s AO Arena, twelve of the UK’s West End and touring productions perform much-loved songs and exciting exclusives.

Daniel Mays takes to the stage with Guys & Dolls, Alfie Boe returns to Les Misérables for a special one-off performance, and Beverley Knight performs with some of the next generation of musical theatre stars. Plus, Broadway sensation Hadestown present a UK television exclusive ahead of its West End debut.

Also featured are show-stopping numbers from the casts of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Disney’s Aladdin, A Chorus Line, Grease The Musical, and Mrs Doubtfire the Musical. Performances from The Wizard of Oz, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, The Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton complete the line up.

The programme also shines a light on the world of musical theatre and includes an exclusive behind the scenes look at hit British comedy musical Operation Mincemeat, and a preview of the exciting shows coming to theatres this year.

Listen on Radio 2 and BBC Sounds

As an extra treat, for one night only, the casts of the finest West End and touring shows from across the UK come together under one roof to perform your favourite musical theatre hits on the radio. Listen from 8pm for a special two hour programme as Comedian, presenter, and singer Jason Manford will be on stage introducing the jaw-dropping performances from classic and new shows like Les Miserables, Hadestown, Guys & Dolls, Aladdin, Hamilton and Grease PLUS some special guest surprises.

And backstage, modern West End royalty Lucie Jones and Marisha Wallace will be let loose in the dressing rooms, chatting to the performers, finding out what the hot tickets for 2024 are, and of course, gathering all the backstage gossip.

Five Star Review

The Manchester Evening News gave the concert a five star review, writing “The show kicked off with a show-stopping performance of ‘The Greatest Show’ from The Greatest Showman, with host Jason Manford and soul singer and stagey icon Beverley Knight belting out the track, surrounded by local National Lottery funded circus schools providing colourful acrobatic performers and dancers. This certainly set the pace for the show, getting 12,000 theatre lovers in the AO Arena hyped up and ready for 90 minutes of stagey goodness”.

Stream it on iPlayer.