Sheridan Smith has been hit by claims she appeared on stage drunk.
The ‘Cilla’ star is currently taking part in West End musical ‘Funny Girl’ at London’s Savoy Theatre but was accused of being inebriated on stage when the show on Thursday evening (28.04.16) was halted after half an hour because of "technical reasons".
Abigail Richter, who attended the show, told The Sun newspaper: "It was an unbelievable disaster. Sheridan was all over the place. At one point she was standing centre stage and her leg goes from underneath her.
"She started in a Bronx accent but slipped into Irish. Then there was a dance scene where at one point she grabbed the dancers’ balls. She walked off and they literally just dropped the curtains."
Whilst audience member Emma John added on Twitter: "@funnygirl. Haven’t seen it before. Is Sheridan Smith’s character supposed to sound a bit drunk? Strange artistic decision if so. (sic)"
But a source has claimed the reason for the early finish couldn’t have been about technical problems because ‘Funny Girl’ – in which the 34-year-old actress plays Fanny Brice – is the "least technical show running".
They said: "Funny Girl is the least technical show running. Everyone in theatre land has been talking about the ‘shenanigans at the Savoy Theatre’ last night. To say it is due to technical issues is rubbish. Sheridan has problems but she is amazing at getting bums on seats – literally."
The show went on as normal on Friday evening (29.04.16) and a spokesperson for Sheridan has denied the claims, insisting it is "categorically not true".
Sheridan Smith denies claims of drunken West End appearance
