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"John Partridge is to return to the West End to star in the revival of A Chorus Line, it has been revealed. The 41-year-old, who played Christian Clarke in EastEnders from 2008 until earlier this month, will play the role of Zach in Bob Avian&amp;#039;s upcoming production. Partridge will star opposite Singin&amp;#039; in the Rain actress Scarlett Strallen when the show begins at the Palladium from February 5, reports the Daily Mail. He described the character of Zach - the director auditioning dancers for a Broadway show - as &amp;quot;charismatic and manipulative&amp;quot; and revealed that he took on the job to work with Avian, who was co-choreographer on A Chorus Line in 1975 alongside original director Michael Bennett. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s one of those opportunities you&amp;#039;ve got to grab,&amp;quot; Partridge added. The former Walford favourite recently left EastEnders along with co-star Marc Elliot, who played Christian&amp;#039;s boyfriend Syed Masood. Partridge said of his decision to depart the BBC soap: &amp;quot;I have had the time of my life at EastEnders - but I have always gone with my gut - and leaving at the same time as Marc felt like the ONLY thing to do. &amp;quot;It is the right end to the story and for Christian. But also, excitingly, the start of a whole new chapter for me.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a440277/eastenders-john-partridge-for-west-end-return-in-a-chorus-line/>