American TV star Ricki Lake has said she hopes appearing in the celebrity version of The X Factor will bring theatrical opportunities on Broadway or the West End.
Lake, who is best known for hosting her long-running talk show in the US, is one of 15 stars competing to win a record deal on the new edition of the long-running ITV show along with the likes of Martin Bashir, Brendan Cole and a group of Love Island stars.
Ahead of the launch of the series, Lake, 51, told PA news agency: “I’m really more interested in doing something maybe in the West End, or doing something on Broadway.
“I’ve never done that, that would be an amazing opportunity to come out of this, and we’ll see.”
While largely famous for her talk show, which ran for 11 years from 1993, Lake first found fame in the lead role of Tracey Turnblad in the 1988 film Hairspray.
Since then she has appeared in a string of TV shows, including Charm School With Ricki Lake and most recently she competed on the US version of singing show The Masked Singer.
Lake said she wanted to take part in the series “to discover a different side to me”.
She added: “I’m all about reinventing myself, I’ve been around a very long time, I think it’s safe to say I’ve had the longest standing career out of anyone that’s doing this.
“But I’ve been an actor, a talk show host, I’ve been in the business for more than 30 years. I’m all about trying something new and showing myself in a new light.
“I make documentary films these days an an opportunity came up and I was just like, why not?”
Lake said she is “more vibrant and more youthful” than she was in her 20s and 30s, and that she was “so serious” back then.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are – it’s how you feel, and I feel as youthful as ever.”
She said she was “not necessarily scared” by show boss and head judge Simon Cowell, adding: “I didn’t think he was going to bite me.
“But he can definitely be brutally honest and I shudder to think what he may have to say because I’m not the best singer by far in this group.
“But I’ve got heart.”
Lake is in the Overs category in the revamped singing competition along with journalist Bashir, The Chase quizzer Jenny Ryan and Coronation Street star Victoria Ekanoye.
Others competing in the show include reality TV star Megan McKenna, Glee star Kevin McHale, rugby stars Thom Evans, Ben Foden and Levi Davis and former Strictly Come Dancing professional Cole, who is in a duo with actor Jeremy Edwards.
Cowell will judge the series along with returning stars Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger, while Dermot O’Leary returns as host.
The X Factor: Celebrity will debut on ITV on October 12.
