‘The X Factor’ gets scripted for new musical ‘It’s Time To Face The Musical!’ to debut in London

Simon Cowell’s The X Factor is one of the most recognizable names in unscripted, reality television, but now it’s about to get scripted. Cowell has given Harry Hill and Steve Brown the green light for The X Factor: It’s Time To Face The Musical!, which will debut on the London stage next year.

The Daily Mail reports that Stage Entertainment and Cowell’s Syco Entertainment will co-produce and casting will start in May. Rehearsals will begin after Christmas and it will debut at the London Palladium next spring. It’s been given a £6 million budget.

“It’s going to be quite a wacky big show,” Stage’s U.K. managing director, Rebecca Quigley, told the Daily Mail.

According to The Telegraph, Phillip Bateman (Billy Elliot) will serve as musical supervisor. Sean Foley has been hired to direct.

Brown’s credits include Spend, Spend, Spend, while Hill is a Bafta award-winning comedian.

The story will sound similar to X Factor viewers who are used to the frequent sob stories about the contestants. According to the press release, it will follow Chenice, who has never heard of X Factor because her grandfather’s iron lung keeps her home from getting a TV signal. She meets Max, the love interest, and has a talking dog who tells the audience what’s going on. The dog’s name is Poundshop.

Quigley told the Daily Mail that Cowell isn’t expected to have a hand in the show’s creation, but “I’m sure he’s going to have an opinion.”

Casting details were not announced.

image: Fox