Bradley Walsh, Brian Conley, Shane Richie & Joe Pasquale: THE PRAT PACK

28 November 2024
The Prat Pack

Four of the country’s greatest comedy entertainers will be appearing at the Victoria Theatre Halifax on Thursday 1 May with their own special take on the Rat Pack

Inspired by the performances of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford, the UK stars are hitting the road (with Pasquale at the wheel of the tour bus).

Packed with laughs and songs, backed by a 15-piece band, the show will let the audience in on the banter between some of television’s best-loved stars - who are also very close friends. Bradley Walsh says: “People are starved of our type of entertainment - songs, stories, jokes - and banter! It's an homage to the Rat Pack but brought up to the modern day, and it's a fantastic night. We are just thrilled. We all share the same dressing room - we're mates. We've known each other for so long now - and the show is about warmth and family - because we are. It's great, really great.”

Walsh was joined by his three mates and the Barry Robinson Big Band for a one-off show at the Palladium in London in March, and the idea was born for a full-on Prat Pack tour. Fans can expect an evening packed with jokes that can only come from the chemistry of such seasoned entertainers. Walsh, Conley and Richie were all Pontins Bluecoats earlier in their careers and Pasquale was a Warner’s Greencoat, giving them all a grounding in variety before decades-long careers at the very top of entertainment.

The Prat Pack Bradley Walsh, Brian Conley, Joe Pasquale and Shane Richie

Bradley Walsh says: “The show harks back to the 1950s and ‘60s - the Rat Pack era of Sinatra and the gang. The four of us have been mates for over 40 years now and we have a combined age of around 250 years, so a quarter of a millennium. The only time we were on the same show was in 1993 for the Royal Variety Performance. I've been desperate to put something together like this for so long.”

BRADLEY WALSH - Walsh hosts the BBC’s smash-hit revamp of the epic Gladiators (with son Barney), ITV mega-quiz The Chase and the Great British television institution that is Blankety Blank. For most stars that would be all you need to know, but this is an actor, comedian and singer whose credits also include Coronation Street, Doctor Who and Law & Order: UK. He has released two hit albums - oh, and he signed as a professional footballer for Brentford aged 18.

BRIAN CONLEY - Sitcoms, stage, soap opera, hit albums, Strictly Come Dancing and puppets (“It’s a puppet!”) – Brian Conley has done it all. Musical Theatre credits include Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hairspray and Oliver!. Having shot to fame with ITV’s The Brian Conley Show, in recent years, appearances on Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders have ensured his place as one of the country’s great performers.

SHANE RICHIE - Shane Richie is probably best known for his classic EastEnder character Alfie Moon but his showbiz career goes back much further. For many, he shot to prominence as host of Saturday morning TV’s Run the Risk as part of Going Live! But at the same time he was making his name on the stage in the Grease revival. Since then, his credits range from The National Lottery: Win Your Wish List to I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!.

JOE PASQUALE - Unforgettable from the moment his first TV performances hit the screens in the mid-90s, Joe Pasquale’s place in the nation’s hearts was cemented with victory in I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! In 2004. Since then stage credits have included starring roles in Spamalot and The Producers. The idiosyncratic comedian’s latest hit tour he named ‘The New Normal - 40 Years Of Cack!’.