Andrew Lloyd Webber: 'Cancer to blame for flop musical'

Andrew Lloyd Webber has attributed the critical failure of his Love Never Dies musical to his battle with prostate cancer.

The esteemed composer was diagnosed with the disease while working on his Phantom Of The Opera sequel, which was critically panned upon its West End debut in March 2010.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Lloyd Webber accepted that his ill health had affected the show's quality and declared a newly-revamped version to be the perfect embodiment of his original vision.

He said: "There is no question that this [new] production cannot be improved upon. It's fabulous to look at and they completely understand what I'm trying to get at with the score. It has a momentum that is wonderful.

"I had a unique issue because I got cancer in the middle of all of it. With hindsight, we should have said, 'Let's put the whole thing on hold until I'm 100% again'. Frankly, I wasn't feeling very well."

Lloyd Webber was declared cancer-free in January 2010 after undergoing surgery to remove his prostate gland.