EastEnders star Jake Wood lifts lid on working with Cheryl in her acting debut – and what she’s really like backstage
EASTENDERS legend Jake Wood has spilled all on working with Cheryl in 2:22: A Ghost Story and given his honest opinion on her acting debut.
She shocked the world when it was confirmed that she would be hitting the West End stage in a reported £750,000 deal, but it has certainly payed off for theatre organisers and the Call My Name singer after having been littered with positive reviews ever since the start of the run.
Cheryl has stepped into the shoes of Jenny in the stage thriller and has impressed fans and critics alike with her stellar debut and it seems even her co-stars are in awe of her first acting performance.
Jake Wood is currently appearing in the play once again, having working on the show’s first run with another popstar, Lily Allen.
But the ex-EastEnders star had nothing put positive words to say about former Girls Aloud star Cheryl – even though he did admit they have fallen foul of show bosses on a number of occasions thanks to their on-stage giggles.
Speaking of the pop legend, Jake told the Mirror: “I’m sure Cheryl felt the pressure but, after years in the industry, I think she’s pretty fearless.
“It’s quite remarkable to see someone who has never acted before come on stage at the West End, she is in the spotlight, with all that pressure.”
He added of the star: “It’s quite amazing how resilient she is, really. And she is giving amazing performances, people are blown away by how good she is.”
Jake also acknowledged that despite it being new territory for Cheryl, she wouldbe used to performing in sold out arenas so the smaller theatres with a “few hundred” people would be unlikely to faze her.
Disciussing the show’s run on Good Morning Britian earlier this week, Jake also spoke about his and Cheryl’s giggles on the show after she spoke out about ‘corpsing’ on stage.
Corpsing is a stage term for laughing when you shouldn’t whilst performing.
The actor said: “It’s all sort of new to Cheryl, she didn’t know what corpsing was – corpsing is when you laugh on stage.
“We’re getting in trouble for laughing quite regularly.
“It’s part of the show and the characters – although it’s very scary, there are very sort of funny moments, so it’s just trying to stay in the moment.
‘When the audience are enjoying it, it’s difficult to keep a straight face.
“You catch someone’s eye and you just know someone’s about to go.
“You can’t look at them again for the next sort of five minutes.”