SHERIDAN Smith is to star in Funny Girl at Bradford's Alhambra theatre.

The star - one of Britain's most popular actresses - will reprise her role as Fanny Brice in the smash hit show, currently wowing audiences in London's West End.

Following a critically acclaimed and sell-out run in London, the Menier Chocolate Factory production comes to Bradford next year as part of a UK tour.

Miss Smith will star in the show at selected venues - including the Alhambra, where she will appear for one week only, from June 6 to 10.

The actress's performance in the musical has been described by critics as "an unforgettable star turn", "hilarious, glorious, touching" and "all-singing, all dancing, all-joking and all-soul too."

Fanny Brice was the role that shot Barbra Streisand to fame nearly 50 years ago when she starred in the 1968 film of Funny Girl.

Loosely based on the life and career of Broadway and film star and comedienne Fanny Brice and her fiery relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein, the musical features some of the best-known songs in film and theatre history, including People and Don’t Rain On My Parade.

Set in New York in the early 20th century, it follows Brice's story from a Brooklyn music hall singer to a Broadway star. As a stage-struck young vaudeville star, she meets smooth-talking Arnstein and they eventually become a couple. Her career flourishes, but their relationship is tested by financial hardship.

Sheridan Smith has appeared in numerous television dramas and comedies, including Mrs Biggs, Cilla, Gavin and Stacey, The C Word, Accused and Love Soup, and her theatrical credits include Legally Blonde, which won her the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Hedda Gabler, and Flare Path, for which she won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress Her films include Powder Room and Quartet, directed by Dustin Hoffman.

Funny Girl is directed by Michael Mayer, whose West End credits include Thoroughly Modern Millie. For Broadway, his work includes Hedwig and the Angry Inch and American Idiot.