Easy Theatres

The forthcoming date with Thank You for the Music at the IndigO2 at the O2 Arena is Amanda Bell’s second appearance with the show at the prestigious venue.

“I lived in Greenwich for some time so the show is not only a chance to play in the famous O2, it’s also an opportunity to party with my friends,” she says.

Amanda has recently moved home to Dartford, Kent – a life on the road being the motivation behind uprooting to Mick Jagger’s birthplace.

“I don’t drive so my fellow performers kindly pick me up and take me to venues,” she says, “Out of consideration for them I thought I should move to within easy reach of the M25.”

It also brings her nearer to her parents who come from Chatham.

“I was bought up in Chatham and attended teacher training at the Kent College of Dance in Maidstone,” she says.

“My dad was an academic and encouraged me to get qualified, it’s stood me in good stead over the years.”

Her pupils have included model, TV presenter and – very recently following the release of big-budget movie Piranha 3D – film star Kelly Brook.

“It was before her big break presenting Channel 4’s Big Breakfast. She was a good student, but at the time there was no clue to the fame and fortune she was about to experience.”

Similarly, Amanda didn’t envisage the career fork she was about to experience.

Work as a choreographer was steady and taking Amanda all over the world, from Australia to Canada, Russia to Singapore.

However, performance work was bolstering her income and the shows were getting bigger and bigger. Tours with the likes of The Rocky Horror Show and Grease led to a starring role as Frida of ABBA in the West End.

“I’d performed a couple of ABBA songs in other shows I’d appeared in, and because I resemble Frida, I started getting work deputising in several different ABBA shows,” she says.

Two years ago she joined the cast of Thank You for the Music and now travels the world with the hit production.