Ex-Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding replaced in Ghost: The Musical by West End regular

Sarah Harding has been replaced in ‘Ghost: The Musical’ by professional stage actress Carolyn Maitland, who will now star in the lead role of Molly Jensen.

While both the former Girls Aloud singer and her co-star Andy Moss’ contracts were up for renewal after their six-month stint on the stage together, only the 32-year-old actor – who plays Patrick Swayze’s iconic character Sam Wheat in the theatre show – will reprise his role.

This casting change comes after Sarah allegedly suffered an ‘on-stage meltdown’ during a performance at Blackpool’s Winter Garden last October, which allegedly saw her ‘stumbling, slurring and messing up’ the musical’s famous clay wheel scene.

As a result, the 35-year-old star was reportedly ‘hauled off the stage’ mid-show and replaced by her understudy, who was forced to step in for the second half of the production.

Sarah – who later cited ‘mental and physical exhaustion’ as one of the reasons for her problematic performance – faced heavy criticism from some attendees of the show, who accused her of speaking over the other performers and slurring her speech.

One fan tweeted after the show: “I’ve never heard anyone sing as bad as Sarah Harding.”

As another added: “Thank God Sarah Harding’s understudy came on half way through, I’ve never heard or seen someone that bad in a show!”

She has now been replaced by West End regular Carolyn in the 2017 leg of the musical’s UK tour, which begins at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford on January 17.

However one source has defiantly defended the pop star, insisting that Sarah turned down the opportunity to resume her duties on the stage, rather choosing to focus all of her energy on her acting and singing career.

An insider told The Sun: “Sarah never said she was going to do a second run of the touring show. She could have done if she wanted to, but TV and music commitments were always going to take priority.”

We wish both Carolyn and Sarah the best of luck with their future endeavours.