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Zoe Birkett (born 16 June 1985) is an English singer and musical theatre performer.

Birkett was the highest placing female contestant on Pop Idol in 2001 and later appeared on Big Brother. Her first single, Treat Me Like A Lady, was released in 2003 and charted in the UK Top 40.

Since 2009, Birkett has performed in West End theatre. She has performed in Thriller Live, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, The Bodyguard, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and other notable productions.

Career

Early career and Pop Idol

Birkett was born in Consett, a town in County Durham, and began attending stage school from the age of three. ^[1] She had had hopes of being a performer, ^[2] and trained at the Amanda McGlynn Academy in Middlesbrough and the Lorraine Murray Dance School. ^[3]

In 2002, Birkett finished fourth on the first series of Pop Idol, behind Will Young, Gareth Gates and Darius Danesh. She was the highest placed female in the contest. During the competition, she performed such songs as Whitney Houston's " One Moment in Time", " I Will Always Love You" and " I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"; Aretha Franklin's " I Say a Little Prayer"; ABBA's "Thank You For the Music" and Judy Garland's " Get Happy". She later performed as the warm-up act on Pop Idol winners Will Young's and Gareth Gates' tour where she performed to over 250,000 people. She also recorded three songs for the triple platinum Pop Idol: The Big Band Album, which charted at number 1 in the UK Albums Chart.

Recording artist

In 2003, Birkett signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings ^[4] and released one single, "Treat Me Like a Lady", in January 2003. The track was co-written by fellow Pop Idol contestant Sarah Whatmore and peaked at number 12 in the UK Singles Chart. ^[5] Birkett later departed from her record label and pursued an alternative career in musical theatre . ^[6]

Big Brother

On 14 July 2014, Birkett entered the Big Brother house as one of three new housemates. ^{[7] [8]} Upon their arrival, the new housemates were unaware that the public would be voting to decide who would be allowed to stay in the competition. On 18 July, Birkett was saved from eviction and received the highest number of votes from the public. However she later left the competition on Day 58 after being unsuccessful in another public vote. ^[9]

Theatre career

Birkett's first roles were in pantomime and touring productions such as In Town Tonight, What A Feeling, West End Rocks and Cover Girls. ^[10]

Since 2009, Birkett has performed in West End theatre and was initially cast in Priscilla Queen of the Desert until 2011. She then performed as a lead singer in Garrick Theatre's 2011 production of Respect La Diva, ^{[11] [12]}.

In 2012, Birkett became the leading lady of Thriller Live. She was also later cast as an understudy for The Bodyguard's leading lady Alexandra Burke. In this role, she was responsible for matinée performances.^{[ citation needed]}.

In 2021, Birkett performed as Arabia in Moulin Rouge! The Musical at Piccadilly Theatre. ^[13] She later performed in the main female lead role of Satine and made her debut on May 10, 2022. She was featured in the Dave Malloy musical The Witches in 2023.^{[ citation needed]}.

References