Michelle Heaton's 'homage to my dad' as she stars in Theatre Royal's Gerry and Sewell

Michelle Heaton has revealed the part of the Theatre Royal launching tonight that she sees as a "homage to her dad".

Gerry and Sewell tells the tale of two lads from the wrong side of the Metro tracks who will do whatever it takes to bag a pair of tickets into St James' Park. Michelle stars as Gerry's mam Mrs McCarten in the play alongside Bill Ward.

Ahead of the opening night, Michelle said that she considered the full-sized moving replica of a Metro train as a "homage to her dad," Christopher. A former Metro driver, he worked on the light rail network for 27 years as his daughter was growing up in Gateshead.

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Michelle said: "He did a long stint of Metro driving and supervising, so yeah, he had a great career.

Speaking on starring at the Theatre Royal, the former Liberty X singer said: "It’s amazing, to be at this theatre is just a lifelong dream and to be in this production that’s North East based, it’s about Gateshead where I grew up and it’s got the metro in which is a homage to my dad."

The Metro is not the only North East landmark included in the set design, as there's also a replica Angel of the North. However, the full-sized yellow carriage is integral to the play, as the boys are on a "metty mission".

And this time, unlike the static version at the Live Theatre last year, the replica moves. Writer and director Jamie Eastlake called the network "a day to day feature of so many people's lives in the North East."

Jamie said: "It’s dead exciting, we started in a little room in Whitley Bay, then at the Live Theatre and the Metro just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and it now moves. It was static last time but having a moving metro is very exciting."

For tickets to Gerry & Sewell's October 2-5 run see here or call 0191 232 7010.