X Factor star Marcus Collins has infuriated fans after he pulled out of a stage show due to ill health – and then tweeted about his wild night out with his celebrity pals.
The Liverpudlian singer withdrew from the UK tour of Hairspray on the advice of his doctors after an apparent “serious bout of ill health”.
Fans who turned up to see him at the Bristol Hippodrome were gutted – but their disappointment soon turned to anger when they checked his Twitter feed.
On the night of the performance he tweeted: “JUST TOUCHED DOWN IN LDN!! #READYTOPARTTTTAYYYYY”.
He was later snapped looking healthy and happy at Waterloo Road star Chelsee Healy’s 25th birthday party, which was also attended by her pal Tulisa and TOWIE’s Joey Essex.
During the evening he tweeted: “Out for @chelseehealey birthday and aven’t stopped laughing!!! Great night! Drinks good food and great company x #winning”.
The following day the 25-year-old posted more pictures of himself getting out of taxis and laughing with pals, with the message: “Great night last night!”
But mum Pippa Millar, 50, is furious after buying tickets for her daughter Frannie Millar and friend Alice Bird, both 15, specifically to see the talent show runner-up on Tuesday night.
Pippa, of Stoke Bishop, Bristol, said: “A lot of tickets at the box office were sold on the understanding that people were paying to see Marcus Collins.”
Bosses at Hairspray’s tour company Stage Entertainment said the star – who was due to appear as slick dance teacher Seaweed Stubbs – had left show.
They said they had posted the news on websites in a bid to tell fans – but refused to talk about Marcus’ tweets.
A spokesman added: “Obviously everybody at Hairspray was disappointed to see Marcus withdraw from the tour, but after a serious bout of ill health, and on the advice of his doctors, it was felt he needed time to recover and that the best option for him and the show would be for him to leave.
“In that respect it’s worth pointing out that he has left Hairspray rather than is ‘absent’ during the show’s Bristol run.
“From the day the decision was made public our colleagues in Bristol have informed customers that Marcus won’t be in the show and we have also posted information on our website and social media outlets.
“Inevitably, due to the nature, timing and volume of marketing and advertising a show like Hairspray undertakes, it’s been impossible to remove Marcus from some material out in the public domain.”
The star officially pulled out last month, but he tweeted on July 14 that he was “Finally feeling better! At last!”.
Christiaan de Villiers, general manager of the Bristol Hippodrome, said: “The Bristol Hippodrome was informed during July that Marcus Collins had to withdraw from the current tour of Hairspray on doctors’ advice following an ongoing illness and so was not set to appear during the Bristol run.
“This was communicated via various channels wishing Marcus a speedy recovery, including the venue and production websites and social media channels to this effect.”
