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'Wicked is being introduced to a new generation'

Alice CunninghamSuffolk
News imageKerry Ellis Kerry Ellis sits in a dress room in a chair and smiles at the camera. She has green face paint on to match her character Elphaba. She wears a blue blazer, blue jumper underneath and a blue hat. She is also wearing a black wig that has been braided. Kerry Ellis
Kerry Ellis was the first British actress to star as Elphaba in Wicked on the West End

Britain's first West End Elphaba said the film adaptations of Wicked were introducing the show to a new generation

Kerry Ellis, from Harleston near Stowmarket, Suffolk, played the character in 2007 before she joined the Broadway show in New York the following year.

The actress, who now lives in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, was given a small cameo in the film version's sequel, which has just been released.

Ms Ellis said the show had been a "huge part" of her life.

News imageKerry Ellis Ms Ellis sits in a chair as a make up artist paints her eyebrows. She has green face paint on and she is looking away from the camera. Kerry Ellis
Ms Ellis said the films were introducing the show to a new generation

"It's 20 years next year since the show opened in London... I can't believe it's been that long," she told BBC Radio Suffolk's Wayne Bavin.

"Wicked has been such a huge part of my life for that entirety.

"I was so excited about these new movies because it's bringing it to a new generation, keeping that show going and sharing that music that everybody loves so much."

News imageKerry Ellis A black and white image of Kerry Ellis standing next to Kristin Chenoweth. Kerry has long blonde hair and wears a floral blouse while Kristin has a short blonde bob and wears a strapless white blouse. Kerry Ellis
Kerry Ellis with Kristin Chenoweth, who played Glinda in the first Broadway production of Wicked in 2003

Ms Ellis was named the people's favourite West End Elphaba in a WhatsOnStage.com poll in 2013, and she described her as an "iconic" character.

The sequel film, Wicked: For Good, sees Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande reprise their roles as Elphaba and Glinda in the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West.

While Ms Ellis does not yet know if she has made the final cut, she was filmed as a general member of the public in the film.

She was able to meet both Grande and Erivo, who she described as "really lovely".

"I did a couple days' filming on it, which was very exciting, going to play on the set," she continued.

"In fact, there were quite a few of us from the show over the years that were there filming for those couple of days, and it was just great to see the set, the costumes and be part of the machines of those movies that everyone is so excited about."

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