VIDEO: Watch Keith Jack talk about Dreamcoat Stars heading to Portsmouth

Among them will be Keith Jack for whom the BBC1 search-for-a-Joseph show Any Dream Will Do proved a massive turning point 16 years ago when he came in second in the contest. Shortly after the programme Keith joined the UK tour of Bill Kenwright’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in which he played The Narrator. He then created the lead role of Charlie in the new musical Only the Brave, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Then he returned to Joseph, taking over the lead part of Joseph for three years.

Dreamcoat Stars draws on those happy memories. Dates include New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth on Thursday, April 27 and the Royal Hippodrome Theatre, Eastbourne on Saturday, May 27.

“The format of the show is that four Josephs are coming together, four whole Josephs in one evening. It will be an evening of great classic songs and a few newer ones and we will chat a bit about ourselves. And what is great is going to be the range of musicals.”

Expect Joseph, Jesus Christ Superstar, SIX, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia, We Will Rock You, Jersey Boys, Les Misérables, Moulin Rouge and many more. And you will also enjoy the permutations: “We are four leading men and it will be about enjoying the individual moments. Nobody will feel that they are more important than any one else. Everyone will be there in their own right. We will have duets and everyone gets a solo slot; also it will be four guys singing together. It's not one person driving the show which is lovely because it means that you get to relax a bit and we all have some harmonies and we can bounce off each other.”

It will be 74 dates on the tour – a number which is growing: “This is the first time that anybody has done a show like this with Joseph,” says Keith who for the first time in his career is co-producing for Dreamcoat Stars. “This is something that's completely brand new and is booking really well. People had never heard of it obviously but they're just seeing the posters and we're getting lots of sell-outs already and we're adding extra dates and shows which is lovely.”

And it's also confirmation that we're putting the pandemic behind us: “I think there's still a little bit of hesitancy but I think it's people that are worried about the fuel and gas crisis. I was on a plane a few days ago and I could hear people saying that they're going to have to watch the electric and I think it is worrying people. There was no one on the plane with a mask on but there was concern about the energy crisis so we have tried to keep the ticket prices as low as we can.

“Last year I was up in Pitlochry to do the summer season up there. It was three different productions.

"We did Sunshine On Leith and we did Noises Off and I did lots of concerts.

"I was there for seven or eight months last year and then I went straight into panto. So last year was pretty busy but this year is absolutely full on which is great.”