Backstage with… the stars of Welcome To Chippendales – charting the murderous history of the American dance troupe
When you see that a new show about the Chippendales is starting on Disney+, your first reaction is probably: “Oh cute, those little animated squirrels who are best friends with Mickey Mouse!”
But no. It’s not the Rescue Rangers.
Instead, a drama about the drug-filled and murderous history of one of the most iconic dance troupes in America, the Chippendales, has hit the streamer – you know, the buff lads that take their clothes off for their adoring audience of (largely, but not exclusively, women).
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With an all-star cast, Welcome To Chippendales tells the story of US immigrant Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee (played by Marvel star Kumail Nanjiani) and his rise to fame, and infamy, and finally his fall from grace, all in the name of keeping his raunchy revue show alive at any cost.
Joining Nanjiani is Broadway icon Annaleigh Ashford, who plays Banerjee’s wife Irene, White Lotus star Murray Bartlett as troupe choreographer Nick De Noia and Dan Stevens as Paul Snider – the man who killed his Playboy model wife in a fit of jealousy.
“The Chippendales dancers are sort of an American icon, if you will,” Ashford explained to Backstage, the TV and film podcast from Sky News.
“They’re sort of a funny part of pop culture that came about in the late seventies and kind of lived through the early nineties.”
She added: “Since the dawn of time, we’ve been watching men get to watch women take their clothes off, so it took until 1970 for women to watch men take their clothes off.
“That’s always been sort of… Chippendales culture that I think is fascinating – but basically, we think of collars and cuffs and men taking their pants off for ladies. Finally.”
Pic: Disney+
Pic: Disney+
Ashford also explained that her mother’s love of true-crime meant she knew about the troupe’s murky history.
“My mom watches a lot of true-crime shows, and so she had told me about it many moons ago.
“Lots of murder and in lots of different places and very, very shocking. The kind of story that if you wrote it from your brain, we’d all say, ‘that’s too crazy. That would never happen in real life’.
“So that’s obviously why we needed to make a television show about it.”
But while Ashford was tapped in to what the Chippendales are – Nanjiani had less of an idea.
“I honestly didn’t know much about the story behind it until this project came my way,” he admitted to Backstage.
“I didn’t know that it was an immigrant who started Chippendales, I didn’t know that it had this like sort of sordid backstory with, you know, the sex and drugs. The arson and murder were surprising – so I really had no idea until… the creator of our show told me what happens episode by episode.
“And that’s when I found out all of this. I had no idea about any of this. Chippendales is a part of pop culture… but the story behind it surprisingly is not.”
The Chippendales has a pretty dark history… Pic: Disney+
When asked what made them want to play the roles, one a murderous strip club owner and the other his dutiful wife, Ashford replied: “We crave characters who are complicated, who have high stakes, who have challenges, and the circumstances of this story are just a wonderful sort of breeding ground for all of those complicated things to navigate as a character and as an actor.
“Just if anything, I was happy to say yes, to dive into some good wigs and wardrobe.”
Nanjiani fired back: “I thought you said it was because of me that you wanted to do it. You said the reason you were doing it was because of me. What? I don’t know what all this stuff is…?”
Ashford said that of course her co-star was one of the “puzzle pieces” as to why wanted to take the role, with Nanjiani joking: “I just want to be a piece of the puzzle.”
Welcome To Chippendales is streaming now on Disney+ – hear our team’s review on this week’s Backstage, the TV and film podcast from Sky News.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.
The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.
The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.
Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.
Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.
Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.
Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA
The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.
Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.
The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.
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Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.
The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.
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