ITV’s All Star Musicals slated by viewers for ‘ruining’ musical theatre

All Star Musicals made its debut on ITV tonight but for many viewers even the one-off episode was too many.

The special Christmas Eve show saw West End legend Michael Crawford guide celebs who took to the stage with a series of musical performances.

Hosted by Freddie Flintoff, All Star Musicals featured a cast of famous faces who each performed an iconic number from a hit musical at the legendary Palladium Theatre in London’s West End.

Those taking part included Sir Tony Robinson, Denise Lewis OBE, Nicky Campbell, Sally Phillips, Lucy Fallon, Michael Parr and Rebecca Front.

They trained with some of the West End’s most seasoned performers as they got to grips with their chosen song.

They then debuted their number – supported by a sensational chorus line – to a packed house at the London Palladium.

The show featured numbers from a range of famous musicals, including Chicago, Evita and Guys and Dolls, with the theatre audience deciding at the end of the night whose performance wowed them the most.

It was Lucy who won the first, and judging by the viewer reaction, last show.

Many watching weren’t impressed by the lacklustre performers ‘ruining’ their favourite musicals.

“Raise your hand if you’d rather @ITV made a musicals compilation show featuring real musical theatre performers instead of random “celebs” ??‍♀️ ” wrote one viewer.

Another agreed: “Hey @ITV can we have a two hour special of actual, accomplished musical theatre stars, those who do 8 shows a week doing what they’re best at instead #allstarmusicals”

And one joked: “Operator: “999 what’s your emergency?” Me: “THERE’S BEEN A MURDER…ON ITV…MUSICAL THEATRE IS GETTING DESTROYED” #AllStarMusicals”

Even the audience on the TV special faced complaints.

“There’s a special place in hell for people who clap the entire way through musical theatre songs #allstarmusicals” wrote a viewer.

But there was some praise out there, especially for winner Lucy.

She tweeted after the show aired: “Thank you so much everyone for the lovely messages… it was an absolute dream come true and I loved every second of it. #AllStarMusicals ”

You can watch the show for yourself on the ITV Player.