WHEN a girl finds herself on the wrong side of the law in trigger-happy 1920s Chicago, there's only one guy she can turn to.
Enter Billy Flynn, smooth-talking, sharp-suited lawyer to the stars. Together with glamorous vaudeville star Velma Kelly and cute chorus girl Roxie Hart, Billy is at the centre of sexy, stylish musical Chicago, hitting Bradford next week.
"It's Kander and Ebb, it's Bob Fosse - what more could a musical performer want?" beams actor John Partridge, who has stepped into Billy's shoes for the current tour. He joins Hayley Tamaddon as Roxie and former X Factor winner Sam Bailey as prison governor, Mama Morton.
Billy makes a memorable entrance, appearing with a chorus of fan dancers, crooning All I Care About is Love. He's something of an enigma, breezing in and transforming scheming murderesses into stars, complete with over-egged sob stories.
Set in Prohibition-era Chicago, the stylish musical is a witty satire on corruption in the criminal justice system and the concept of the "celebrity criminal." Velma, accused of murdering her husband and sister after finding them in bed together, is joined behind bars by Roxie, who has shot her lover dead. Both awaiting trial, the women rely on Billy to work his magic, razzle-dazzling the press and presenting the lady killers as vulnerable - and crucially easy-on-the-eye - victims.
"Billy is the puppet master, the king of spin. He gets these girls off the hook and keeps up their profile - until someone else comes along," says John. "He's the pace of the show really, the storyteller. He's a dream role; I get to wear a tuxedo and make a great entrance - it feels wonderful coming on stage to that every night!
"It's the kind of show they don't really make anymore. It has a million dollar script, it's a gift for an actor, and, cleverly, it manages to be both old-school and contemporary at the same time, so it appeals to both young and old."
Chicago started life as a play by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, who covered the high profile trials of two women accused of murder. The trials, in early 1920s Chicago, left the public riveted and made celebrities out of the female defendants.
In 1969 John Kander and Fred Ebb began work on a musical adaptation, drawing on a vaudeville style, with direction and choreography by Bob Fosse. With a score that includes All That Jazz, Cell Block Tango and When You're Good To Mama, it's a hugely entertaining, witty riot of a show.
It went on to become the second longest-running show in Broadway history and was turned into an Oscar-winning 2002 film starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere.
"The show has been rested for a while and now we have the Broadway team working with us," says John. "Every last detail has been taken care of, it's very stylised.
"It's highly choreographed, directed to the last fingernail. The choreography has been re-created faithfully and we have an amazing cast of beautiful dancers. Hayley brings warmth to Roxie and Sam is great, you'd never know it was her first musical. This is a big year for the show - I feel very honoured to be taking it into its 20th year."
Although it's set in 1920s Chicago, the show is a timely comment on the nature of celebrity, and the way both press and public can be manipulated.
"It's a current theme, it was very much ahead of its time when it was written," says John. "You have these dual themes of Twenties Chicago, a story based on real events, and this focus on celebrity culture, which has a great resonance today. Now, more than any other time, we know so much about celebrities. I think if Billy was around today he'd have a field day! He'd be the king of social media."
John knows perhaps more than most about the nature of 21st century celebrity culture. At the start of this year he spent a month in the Celebrity Big Brother house, where he managed to maintain a sense of dignity and calm while chaos for the cameras ensued around him. He's a likeable man; friendly, polite, thoughtful and witty.
"It was hard in there, especially towards the end," he smiles. "But, hey, I did it and I'm still standing! We're a small family and I need to earn money. When these opportunities come along, you take them."
John's background is in musical theatre, having trained in ballet as a child. "I was with the Royal Ballet, that discipline stays with you for life," he says.
He was in the original UK tour of Cats in 1988 and later the West End production. He has worked in TV and with acts such as U2, Pet from 2008 to 2012 he played Christian Clarke in EastEnders
In 2010 he was a judge on BBC1's Over the Rainbow, seeking a star for Andrew Lloyd Webber's revival of The Wizard of Oz, and this spring he returns to a judging panel in new TV show Taking the Next Step. "It's a dance show, I'm a mentor and coach," he says. "I've also done a cooking show with Marco Pierre White on board a ship, which was amazing. I loved every minute - although I went through the entire thing without a mishap until right at the very end! My husband and I love to cook. You don't turn down an opportunity to work with one of the world's best chefs.
"I'm one of the lucky ones," adds John. "I do acting, presenting, reality. It's all work and I learn a bit from each experience.
"But musicals are my passion and I'm so thrilled that a role like Billy has come along at this stage in my life. I'm loving it."
* Chicago runs at the Alhambra from Monday to Saturday. For tickets call (01274) 432000.