Lesley Joseph pulled out of Sister Act due to coronavirus

Lesley Joseph made the decision to pull out of \'Sister Act The Musical\' over coronavirus fears.

The 74-year-old actress was due to star in the upcoming West End production in April as the Mother Superior, but decided to give up the role as she is at a higher risk of becoming seriously sick with the respiratory illness due to her age.

Lesley made her decision before production bosses decided to postpone the show all together.

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Lesley\'s \'Birds of a Feather\' co-star Linda Robson revealed the news on \'Loose Women\'.

Panellist Linda, 61, said: "Lesley Joseph was doing it, but Leslie is 74 so it\'s really worrying for her because she\'s over 70. So she decided not to do it before it was postponed."

The risk of severe illness of the virus increases with age as the death rate begins to increase over the age of 50, whilst those under the age bracket have a death rate of 0.2 per cent.

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It was announced last month Lesley would be taking on the role in the musical adaption, with Brenda Edwards in the lead role as Deloris Van Cartier.

Former \'X Factor\' contestant Brenda revealed the production has been postponed due to the spread of the virus, but the team has already planned for when production resumes.

She said: "We\'ve postponed rehearsals. With the current climate when we do come back we\'ll be doing something to help actors and other people out of work."

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Meanwhile, Whoopi Goldberg - who starred in the original film and its sequel - was due to appear in a selection of shows during the summer.

The 63-year-old Hollywood star is set to be joined in the show by \'Absolutely Fabulous\' actress Jennifer Saunders, who will play Mother Superior, a nun who takes Deloris into her convent after she witnesses a mafia hit.

Whoopi said: "The original Deloris is back, a little older, a little seasoned, but really still kind of out there."

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It is not yet known if the summer shows with the Whoopi and Jennifer will go ahead as planned.