Photo Countdown for the London Show closure

[Billy Whiz]

It’s Day 12 of the Photo Countdown and we have the first appearance of the extremely talented Leon Cooke. I, sadly, never saw Leon perform as Billy but I have not met anybody that has a bad word to say about him. Since leaving BETM he has appeared in many shows, including Mama Mia and Miss Saigon. He is presently in wonder.land at The National Theatre. With Leon are two of the original Billys – George Maguire and Liam Mower. This photo was taken outside the Victoria Palace Theatre after the Gala Performance on May 30th, 2012.

[porschesrule]

Just to add a little historical perspective, for those who may be unfamiliar, to what Billy Whiz has said about this trio...

They actually were the Billy rotation in the first year of the show as Leon replaced James Lomas, the first of the original three Billys to leave -- in September of 2005. For two plus months, one of these three were the Billys you saw if you attended a performance at the VPT, until George left in December and was replaced by Travis Yates.

[Todd]

Moreover, at the very beginning, each Billy had a particular Michael he was nearly always paired with. The pairings appeared to be made with consideration to age and height. The original Billy/Michael pairings were: James Lomas/Ashley Lloyd, George Maguire/Brad Kavanaugh, and Liam Mower/Ryan Longbottom. James and Ashley both left the show the same night in September, 2005 and were replaced by a new pairing: Leon Cooke and Joey Phillips. Soon after, the Billys and Michaels began appearing without any particular pairings.

[Billy Whiz]

It’s Day 11 of The Photo Countdown and it’s time for the final appearance of the ever-popular Fox Jackson-Keen. This photo was taken at his official leaving show on March 27th, 2010 though he did come back for two more appearances due to two of the Billys being indisposed.

[ERinVA]

Was he really black and white?

I love the photo.

[Billy Whiz]

It’s Day 10 of the Photo Countdown and it’s the final photo of the brilliant Redmand Rance. I love this cheeky photo of Redmand sticking his tongue out at Deka though in reality I'm sure he's just licking his lips. This photo was taken at his last show on May 10th, 2014.

[CJ-Rochester]

Another excellent photo, David! I am gobsmacked that we are already down to 10 days.
See you next week.

[Billy Whiz]

Well we are in the final straight now and into single figures. It’s Day 9 of the Photo Countdown and sadly the last appearance of Harrison Dowzell and Joe Massey. They, like all the other Billys and Michaels, will never be forgotten. This photo was taken at their last night on November 9th, 2013.

[jmh2014]

Single figures - that really brings home the imminent closure.

For someone who came to the show only recently, it has been fascinating to see all the pictures and the history behind them. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

[Billy Whiz]

It’s Day 8 of the Photo Countdown and today we have four amazing but totally different Billys. I love this photo as Brad Wilson, Layton Williams, Liam Mower and Oliver Taylor look so happy and relaxed as they are entering the Victoria Palace Theatre on March 31st, 2010 for the 5th Birthday Show.