CHERYL Tweedy was forced to delay her West End debut after fans flocked to see her big comeback.
The Girls Aloud singer was due to kick off her three-month stint in Ghost Story 2:22 at 7:30pm tonight at the Lyric theatre in Piccadilly, central London.
However, call time came and went as the queue snaked through London’s Soho.
Cheryl, 39, follows in the footsteps of Lily Allen and Laura Whitmore to take on the leading female role of Jenny in the spooky show.
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It's understood fans were left waiting until minutes before the show was due to kick off to get inside after after rehearsals overran.
Despite the disruption, Cheryl is expected to bag £1k a night for her performance as leading lady Jenny.
A queue member said: “It was mental. No one could believe it. The show was due to start at 7.30pm but at that time the queue was already double backing on itself and hundreds long.
“Everyone was stunned. At 7.30pm the theatre sent out staff to check everyone in the queue has tickets, which they did, and confirm the start would be delayed until everyone was in.”
One theatre-goer was heard saying: “Are you still queuing? To get into Ghost story? This is ridiculous. We will be at home by the time her reach the end of the queue”.
Another added: “I've never seen anything like it.”
A member of staff who wished not to be named said: “Yeah, it’s bedlam.
"We were late opening due to rehearsals. It’s opening night.”
But it seems it was worth the wait as the Love Made Me Do It singer was left beaming with pride after receiving a standing ovation at the end of the show.
Cheryl's West End debut was set to be her career comeback after taking time out of the spotlight.
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Cheryl will take part in 106 shows and an industry booker has revealed: “Cheryl is getting around £1,000 a show.”
They added: ““The deal is £100,000 but will also be linked to ticket sales so if she helps shift around 80% of seats then she’ll be entitled to more money on top of that.”
Cheryl last released new music in 2018, but it failed to hit the top of the charts.
She left fans unimpressed with her first stage performance in four years with comeback track Love Made Me Do It.
The mum-of-one returned to The X Factor - where she used to be a judge - and gave it her all.
But viewers slammed it as "embarrassing" and "painful" after she licked her own hand during the song.
Cheryl previously vowed to quit music if her comeback failed to dent the top 80.
"If the song goes in at 80 [in the charts], it's time for me to move on with my life," the star told The Guardian in 2018.
Her single Love Made Me Do It limped in at No19 as it was released before nosediving to No48 in official chart figures.
Cheryl, along with Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, were left devastated by the death of their Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding.
They've raised thousands of pounds in Sarah’s honour with a Race for Life and launching a charity pyjama collection with Primark.
