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Liverpool region comic Paul O’Grady has blasted the Coronation Street musical "Street of Dreams" after it turned into a nightmare for him.
And after he publicly criticised the producers for failing to pay staff it is rumoured that he expects to be "dropped" from the cast.
Former chat show host O'Grady narrated the musical which has had its UK tour delayed after its premiere in Manchester turned-out to be a disaster.
The show was a chaotic. Many members of the audience members walked out and it was condemned by critics.
Reckless Entertainment, the musical’s producers, announced it was delaying the tour to "work on the scripts" which had in fact been hurridly re-written by O'Grady and members of the cast in a bid to make sense of the show.
The decision meant planned tour dates in Newcastle, Dublin and Belfast were "postponed", but now it looks certain the show is doomed.
O’Grady was known to be furious at the shambles and has slammed the producers in the entertainment industry magazine 'The Stage'.
O'Grady also urged them to pay the cast and crew of Street of Dreams, many of whom had worked without pay.
Some back-stage members of the production team walked-out during the long rehearsal period because they were not paid.
O’Grady told The Stage: "That is what is killing me. I can afford it, but they [the cast and crew] can’t.
"I feel like screaming out, 'Pay your crew!'. That's what is sickening me. And there were people on this for whom this was their first job, and I had to tell them it’s not like this all the time!'."
O’Grady revealed he nearly quit the musical during rehearsals and described his time working on show as "bedlam".
However, he said decided against leaving telling The Stage "If I go, it gives them the perfect excuse to close everything and blame it on me. So I stuck it out, as did the rest of the cast, because we felt a commitment to this thing, which we had been involved in for so long."
The comedian also poured scorn on the possibility he would return to Street of Dreams when its script issues are sorted out.
He told The Stage that he had contemplated leaving the production during rehearsals, but had decided to "stick the bloody thing out".
O'Grady said: "I also thought, if I go, it gives them the perfect excuse to close everything and blame it on me,
"So I stuck it out, as did the rest of the cast, because we felt a commitment to this thing, which we had been involved in for so long.
He also revealed there was no complete script and revealed he had to "cobble stuff together" during the Manchester performances.
He added that the set was unfinished, and that cast members were asked to provide their own costumes for the show, which features music by Trisha Ward.
O’Grady said he was unlikely to rejoin the cast, even if asked.
He said:I don’t think I could to tell you the truth, I have been poisoned so much,
"We all feel like we have been thrown down the rabbit hole, gone through some crazy wonderland, and come out the other side saying, ‘What was that about?’.
"I don't want a penny off them [the Wards]. All I'm concerned about is that they pay the cast and crew."
Starring alongside O’Grady in the musical were current Coronation Street regulars Kym Marsh and Katy Cavanagh as well as former Corrie actress Julie Goodyear.
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