Life's a drag for new Hairspray star Phil Jupitus

TV comic Phil Jupitus and Eighties pop singer Belinda Carlisle were unveiled today as the new stars of West End musical Hairspray.

Let us spray: Phill meets himself in Edna costume

The cross-dressing comedy is heading into the third year of its successful run at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Jupitus, team captain on BBC2's Never Mind The Buzzcocks, is in rehearsals for his turn as larger-than-life heroine Edna Turnblad, the part previously played by Michael Ball and Brian Conley.

Hair rasiing: Belinda Carlisle as Velma Von Tussle

The new-look line-up, which is due to begin performances on 26 October, also features Carlisle, who had a No 1 hit single in 1987 with Heaven Is A Place On Earth. She will take the stage as glamorous white supremacist Velma Von Tussle. Hairspray won four Olivier awards last year.