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Michelle gets A 'new' laddin!

She kept us entertained this summer with her antics in the Big Brother house, but now she's going to be starring in another pantomime!

Michelle as The Princess in Aladdin

This Christmas, Big Brother 5's Michelle Bass is following the road of many reality TV stars and will be appearing as The Princess in Aladdin - this year's festive offering at the Alban Arena.

Life has been one big whirlwind for Michelle after leaving the Big Brother House in August, with the press probably focusing more on her fledgling relationship with fellow housemate Stuart, than her future career.

But for Michelle, being on the stage will give her, and us, the chance to see what she can do when you take away the cameras - and Stuart for that matter!

She says that she is looking forward to her stage debut very much, although understandably she's a little bit apprehensive.

"I'm signed up to an agency and when they were approached about the idea of me being the Princess, I thought it would be very exciting and also a fabulous experience" she says.

"I'm not nervous about singing but I'm a little bit nervous about the acting but I'm sure I'll do fine" she adds. "I'm very excited and I'm really looking forward to it."


The cast of Alban Arena panto

Singing

Despite her interesting rendition of Pie Jesus in the Channel 4 show, singing is definitely not something that she should be worried about, as on other days she showed that she could belt out a number like the best of them. Nevertheless, she did say that she might consider some kind of instruction.

"I haven't been taking any singing lessons at all so I hope I'll be up to scratch!" she says. "But maybe that's something I'll need to think about."

"I'm not nervous about singing but I'm a little bit nervous about the acting."

Although Geordie Michelle will get Christmas Day off, she will be a long way from her native Tyneside and her family at Christmas. However, she says that this opportunity was just too good to turn down and she could catch up with them all later.

"Yes - I'll probably not see very much of them [my friends and family] this Christmas but this experience was very important to me" she explains.

"But obviously I can miss one Christmas without my friends. I can see them any time - if you know what I mean."

Chill out

Michelle is undecided as to whether this foray into theatre will lead to an acting career, or whether, like the eventual winner of Big Brother 5 - Nadia - she would think about releasing a single.

"We'll see how this goes first I think" she says about the acting. "Because I'm hoping I'll be alright.

"Obviously I'm very interested in music, and R & B music in particular, but I've not really thought about anything. It might be a nice idea for the future but I haven't really decided at the moment."

Michelle hasn't really had much time to think about her plans and says that between now and the start of rehearsals she is looking forward to getting a bit of rest.

"I'm going to get a few lie-ins and basically chill out because I've been really, really busy over the last few weeks" she says. "I'll just get ready to be busy!"


Michelle with Jamie Rickers

Happy

Appearing in front of thousands rather than millions may be a bit of a change, but it seems that what doesn't go away is the attention of the press.

She says that she is 'definitely' learning how to deal with them now, but is she hoping that a spell in panto will bring a bit of peace from the media?

"It's not something I've thought about" she admits. "I don't really mind the attention of the Press but I think I've learned a lot about them over the past few weeks. I don't have a preference either way to be honest."

And what about the lovely 'Chicken' Stu, what does he think about her latest venture?

"He's happy for me and thinks that I'll do really well and obviously he's looking forward to coming and seeing it" she smiles.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/c..._feature.shtml