Sheridan Smith’s Funny Girl understudy Natasha Barnes thanks fans for 'support'

An actress thrust into the West End spotlight as Sheridan Smith’s understudy has thanked fans for their “support” after receiving rave reviews.

Natasha Barnes has been praised for her “show-stealing” performances after taking on the lead role in Funny Girl for the past three nights.

The Savoy Theatre said Barnes, 26, had “blown the roof off”, swiftly winning over audiences disappointed by Smith’s continued absence.

Barnes tweeted yesterday: “I want to thank each and every one of you for all your support this week, we are all so grateful xxx.”

Barnes, who studied theatre at Ringwood Sixth College near her family’s Hampshire home, has credits in West End shows such as American Idiot, Chess and Spring Awakening, after making her acting debut as Alice in a 2000 BBC Radio production of Alice Through The Looking Glass.

Her big break came when she was cast in the original run of Funny Girl at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Smith quit the run following her father’s diagnosis with cancer in March.

Barnes stepped into the role and at the time told theatre blog BroadwayWorld: “Sheridan’s such a hard worker. She genuinely loves going on every night and she genuinely gives 100 per cent.

“There’s no in-between - she either can’t do it, or she gives everything.”

Smith partied until 7am after the TV Baftas on Sunday, in which her performance in The C-Word lost out in the Best Single Drama and Best Actress categories.

She subsequently hit back at a critics saying she was “not strong enough” to perform.

Although the actress has since missed two subsequent shows a Savoy spokesman insisted: “She isn’t pulling out.”

“We fully support Sheridan during this really difficult time and are encouraging her to take as much time off as she needs.”

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