Pussycat Dolls star to make stage debut playing a ‘Dominic Cummings figure’

Singer described character as ‘sassy’ and ‘switched on’

Pussycat Dolls singer Kimberly Wyatt will make her stage debut playing a “Dominic Cummings figure” in the political thriller Dead Lies.

The American singer, 39, will appear as press secretary Kate Compton in Hilary Bonner’s play.

Wyatt was due to embark on a world comeback tour with the Pussycat Dolls this year, but the concerts were postponed due to the pandemic.

Instead, she joins a cast that includes Casualty actor Clive Mantle, Absolutely Fabulous star Harriet Thorpe, John Lyons from A Touch of Frost and Coronation Street’s Jacqueline Leonard.

Wyatt said of the role: “Kate is in the centre of all the drama, she’s really sassy, switched on and is hugely influential in the political arena.

“She is very much like a Dominic Cummings or even an Alastair Campbell figure but thankfully she has the style of Carrie Johnson.”

Cummings was ordered to leave Downing Street with immediate effect last November, in a dramatic end to his controversial role as Boris Johnson’s chief advisor.

Campbell was Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy in the 1990s and 2000s.

Wyatt, who has appeared in CBBC series Almost Never since 2019, said: “I had been looking to do a play for some time and had read multiple scripts but couldn’t find a character that I really wanted to create.

“Then I was sent the script for Dead Lies and as soon as I started to read it, I was totally drawn into its world of lies, murder and sexual indiscretion.”

Pussycat Dolls performing in 2020 (Beretta/Sims/Shutterstock)

Directed by Joe Harmston, Dead Lies takes place during a fiercely fought election campaign and follows Peter George (Mantle), a politician who promises a new kind of politics beyond sleaze and spin, but a secret in his past threatens to derails his plans.

Dead Lies embarks on a UK tour in September starting at Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple.

The Pussycat Dolls achieved worldwide success with singles “Don’t Cha”, “Stickwitu” and “Buttons”. Wyatt’s other bandmates are Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Jessica Sutta and Ashley Roberts.

Additional reporting by PA