Fleeshman to play Swayze 'Ghost' role

Richard Fleeshman has been cast in the musical adaptation of the hit 1990 film Ghost.

The former Coronation Street actor will play Sam - the iconic role originally made famous by the late Patrick Swayze - in a new production due to premiere at the Manchester Opera House next March.

Broadway star Caissie Levy will play opposite Fleeshman, along with Hairspray actress Sharon D Clarke and Emmerdale's Andrew Langtree. Langtree was known for his portrayal of Justin Gallagher in the ITV1 soap.

Clarke will take on the role that Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for in the original film version - clairvoyant Oda Mae Brown.

Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard have composed the score, and will see the production transfer to the West End next June.

The musical adaptation was written by Bruce Joel Rubin, who won an Oscar himself for the film's original screenplay in 1991.

Fleeshman's character is a ghost trapped between this world and the next who is trying to communicate with his girlfriend using the services of a phoney psychic.