Debbie McGee joins Grease as Miss Lynch for 2027 tour

Debbie McGee will be keeping Rydell High’s rebellious students in line when she joins the new UK and Ireland tour of Grease. She takes on the role of Miss Lynch in the production, which opens at Theatre Royal Plymouth on Friday 23 April 2027.

Her casting was announced on 29 September, with the opening engagement running until 1 May. The musical will then travel across the UK and Ireland, with dates confirmed in Cardiff, Leeds, Belfast, Dublin, Manchester and other cities.

Miss Lynch is the teacher trying to maintain order amid the students’ romances and rivalries. The role places Debbie among the familiar characters of a musical whose story begins with a summer relationship that becomes much more complicated once school starts.

Danny and Sandy believe their holiday romance is over until they unexpectedly reunite at Rydell High. Back among their friends, the pair must navigate the gap between who they were together over the summer and how they behave in front of everyone else.

The score includes Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin’, Hopelessly Devoted to You and You’re the One That I Want. Nikolai Foster directs the production, with choreography by Arlene Phillips and book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.

Debbie brings decades of live performance experience to the cast, having trained at the Royal Ballet School before working in dance, theatre and television. She became a household name alongside Paul Daniels, with their partnership extending from television magic shows to touring productions and West End engagements.

Her career has also included running the touring ballet company Ballet Imaginaire and presenting on radio. The Grease announcement comes during her 50th year in showbusiness, ahead of the tour’s launch next spring.

Following Plymouth, the production visits Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre from 3 to 8 May and Newcastle Theatre Royal from 10 to 15 May. Wolverhampton Grand Theatre follows from 17 to 22 May, before Stoke-on-Trent’s Regent Theatre from 24 to 29 May.

Yorkshire audiences can see Grease at Leeds Grand Theatre from 31 May to 5 June 2027. The tour then visits Belfast’s Grand Opera House from 8 to 12 June and Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre from 15 to 26 June.

Later stops include Liverpool Empire from 26 to 31 July and Manchester Opera House from 30 August to 11 September. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Norwich and Hull are also on the published itinerary, with further venues still to be announced.