West End stars Caroline Sheen and Alexia Khadime are to join the cast of long running musical hit Les Misérables from 23 June.

The leading pair will play Fantine and Eponine alongside the previously announced Alfie Boe (Jean Valjean), Matt Lucas (Thénardier) and Hadley Fraser (Javert).

Also joining the West End’s longest running musical are Craig Mather, Katy Secombe, Liam Tamne and Lisa-Anne Wood.

Sheen has led the West End casts of Grease and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and previously played Fantine in Les Misérables, while on tour she played the practically perfect nanny Mary Poppins.

Khadime gained West End notoriety when she replaced Kerry Ellis as wicked witch in waiting Elphaba in mega musical hit Wicked, though she had previously starred as Nala in The Lion King.

Before the new cast takes to the barricades on the Queen’s theatre stage, the production will close between 19 and 22 June to allow a new surround sound system to be fitted and for the installation of a bigger orchestra pit to accommodate the extra musicians needed to play the show’s 25th anniversary tour orchestrations that will now be used for the West End production.

A tale of obsession, redemption, love and principles set in revolutionary France, Les Misérables was first staged at the Barbican theatre in 1985. Since then the show has been seen by nearly 60 million people worldwide, in 42 countries and in 21 languages.

MA