Channel 5 will broadcast Elf: The Musical - LIVE this Christmas.

Channel 5 will broadcast Elf: The Musical - LIVE this Christmas.

By Ryan Macaulay on December 21, 2017

The West End hit production, now playing to sell-out audiences at The Lowry in Salford, will be presented in its entirety, recorded just days before broadcast. It will be broadcast on 23rd December and repeated on Christmas Day. There will also be an exclusive backstage special, which will be shown immediately after curtain down on My5.

Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit starring Will Ferrell, Elf: The Musical is adapted by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), with songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer). Originally produced on Broadway by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Elf: The Musical became a holiday hit when it premiered on Broadway in 2010. 

This Channel 5 performance event will be directed by Nick Morris, who successfully brought Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables to the small screen. In a complex 16 camera shoot both front of stage and behind the scenes simultaneously, Elf: The Musical - LIVE promises to be the TV festive event of the year.

Elf: The Musical is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Elf: The Musical - LIVE will star TV and West End ‘Superstar’ Ben Forster as Buddy alongside Liz McClarnon as Jovie, Louis Emerick as Santa Claus, Joe McGann as Walter and Jessica Martin as Emily Hobbs.

Elf: The Musical – LIVE will air on Saturday 23rd December at 5.00pm on Channel 5, followed by the Backstage Special on My5 TV at 8.00pm.  It will also air on Christmas Day, 6.00pm on Channel 5.