X Factor star Matt Terry talks ahead of appearance in Madagascar The Musical in Birmingham

The show opened last week in London at the New Wimbledon Theatre and continues with a run at the New Alexandra Theatre, in Birmingham, from Tuesday until August 4.

Fans of the show can join Alex – played by Matt – Marty, Melman and Gloria as they bound out of the zoo and on to the stage.

Alex the lion is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York’s Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends – Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo – have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity before an admiring public and with regular meals provided for them. Not content to leave well enough alone, Marty lets his curiosity get the better of him and makes his escape – with the help of some prodigious penguins – to explore the world.

Audiences can join Alex their favourite characters in the musical adventure of a lifetime. Filled with outlandish characters, adventure galore and an upbeat score, fans will have no choice but to Move It, Move It!

Terry is delighted to be making his debut in Madagascar. “I am so excited to be making my acting debut in the brand-new production, Madagascar – The Musical. It’s a childhood memory for all of us. I can’t wait to be playing the lead role of Alex and bringing him to life. Expect incredible costume, set and cast. And the music is immense. It will be an awesome night for everyone to enjoy.

“I was actually in Italy with my parents when I got the call, so we celebrated with dinner and Limoncello on the Amalfi Coast.

“Everything about it is immense. The music, the cast, the set, costume . . . you name it. It will bring back a lot of memories for everybody. The movie is iconic and we’re going to do it proud.”

Matt trained in musical theatre before auditioning on The X Factor as a pop singer. And he’s glad that his theatrical training has finally led to an opportunity to tread the boards.

“I did three years on a scholarship at D&B Academy of Performing Arts in Bromley and I auditioned for everything in the West End. I was in the finals for Thriller Live, Kinky Boots, The Book of Mormon, everything you can think of.

“Then I just kind of fell into X Factor and obviously it went very well. Now I’ve just kind of found myself back in my roots. They are two different worlds and I love them both equally. It’s nice to be able to do both.

“When I got the call saying Madagascar are very interested and would like to meet you, I kind of thought I had nothing to lose, went ahead and then the next day they said ‘OK, we want him’. I had a lot to think about obviously, I was like ‘Oh God, can we clear the schedule, what is coming up and what are we doing?’ I just felt like the time was right and I love this.” Matt’s pleased to be part of a new company. The fact that he’ll be able to originate the role was a big plus for him. “I think, the thing with Alex is that we are quite similar and I think that that they’ve cast us very well so that I’m very similar to Alex, Anton is very similar to Marty, the same with everyone else.

“I think with Alex, I’ve given him a voice which may be in the movie he isn’t known for, but this is a musical, so it’s an adapted version of the movie, however, throughout you’re still gonna see iconic scenes, obviously there are the iconic songs as you have just seen so it is still the movie on stage.”

Matt plans to bring physical prowess to his portrayal of a lion. He’ll be a big, muscular character who proves himself the king of the jungle.

“Yes, big chest, big arms, abs, tail and a mane but they have done it impeccably. So for myself, Marty and Gloria, they have built these costumes – a custom fit to us, they have done is so cleverly that I’m really excited to get in it.”

Though Matt has spent recent years working in pop, he’s previously performed in musicals and is glad to be making a return. At college, he performed in Grease, where he played one of the T-birds. He also played Enjolras in Les Mis and Drew in Rock of Ages.

Now that he’s on the stage in Madagascar, he’s hoping it will lead to other roles, including leading the line in the West End. However, he won’t be leaving his pop career behind and is looking forward to recording his next album and going on tour as a solo performer.

“I’m still gigging, that kind of thing, I think I will need to start album touring at some point so let’s see how we can fit that in. Let’s see, it’s been quite easy up until now, but obviously rehearsals are a bit more full on, I’ve still been in the studio, writing, I’ve got gigs, I’m gigging for the rest of the year as well.”