OBE winning dramatist, Kay Mellor, celebrates her Northern roots, as her new stage adaptation of TV drama Fat Friends: The Musical stops in Bradford where LEO OWEN caught

KELLY (Jodie Prenger) is getting married and mother Betty (Sam Bailey) is shortlisted in the “Super Slimmer North” competition to win £5,000 cash. Defending her mother on camera, Kelly winds up being challenged to drop two sizes in six weeks to fit into her ideal dress and have all wedding expenses paid.

The plot will be familiar to fans of Mellor’s series, the familiarity of its Headingley setting likely to charm local viewers while design fans will appreciate Bretta Gerecke’s set. Shops fronts “Big & Battered”, “Berry’s Cake Shop”, “Pizza Pie” and “Wedding Bells” colourfully adorn the stage with a small church at the end of the “road”. The wedding Bell’s shop front opens, creating the interior for dress “fittings”, while in front of the church Zumba exercise classes are held.

Mellor’s adaptation sees her directing and writing lyrics, alongside her chosen composer Nick Lloyd Webber, indeed following in his infamous father’s footsteps. Mellor’s lyrics stem from her own research of the dieting scene, creating larger than life salt of the earth characters in a nostalgic pre-student Headingley setting. Kelly’s father and fish and chip shop owner, Fergus (Kevin Kennedy), sings “Big & Battered’s been and gone”, illustrating the impact of dieting trends on his business. Meanwhile, members of the local dieting group belt out “chocolate is my lover…”, accompanied by Karen Bruce’s comical choreography, dripping with sexual innuendo as male dieters wearing only boxer shorts brandish strategically placed giant Flake bars. “Going Global” is cleverly accompanied by clips of Kelly’s viral popularity projected inside on set house windows.

Cast clearly have a strong rapport and vocals with the exception of Freddie Flintoff as Kevin who holds his own in the non-musical scenes but wavers singing “The Only Fool is Me”. Playing diet group founder Julia Fleshman, Natasha Hamilton is a particularly strong singer, performing “Stinking Rich” in front of a glitzy silver curtain. Vicar Paul (Jonathan Halliwell) and Wedding Bells owner, Lauren (Natalie Anderson), duet together, movingly bemoaning their loneliness and conflicting religions. Bailey and Kennedy’s duet “If You Don’t Want to Marry Him” is equally touching.

Fans of Mellor or the series will love the show while those less familiar might find it a tad predictable and over-exaggerated, over-egging the “luvs” and Kevin’s mispronunciations. Mellor effectively creates a kitchen sink comedy with her working-class caricatures muddling through the highs and lows. She does however touch upon serious issues within the dieting world, such as the effects of air-brushing and diet pills. Kelly’s desperation to be “beautiful” summarises Mellor’s uplifting message very clearly exemplified in the final confetti covered number “Love Who You Are”. Feel good but not necessarily a friend to all.

Fat Friends: The Musical shows in The Alhambra 14-19 May before continuing its UK tour: http://fatfriendsthemusical.com/tour/