Barrymore struggles with comeback

Michael Barrmore is struggling to pull off a career comeback as tickets sell slowly for his new stage production.

The presenter's popularity was hit five years ago when Stuart Lubbock was found dead in his swimming pool after a party.

He came back into the public eye early this year with an appearance in Celebrity Big Brother, but has since failed to relaunch a television career.

Now tickets for a musical version of A Christmas Carol, in which he plays Scrooge, are struggling to sell despite its run starting in three weeks.

Only half the 6,000 tickets for a five-night run at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre have sold, according to The People. Shows at Edinburgh, Sunderland and Aberdeen have also failed to sell out.

"Michael really wanted the show to do well," a source told the paper. "It will hit him hard to find thousands of tickets are left."