Melody Thornton speaks out after police called to The Bodyguard performance

Melody Thornton has spoken out after a performance of The Bodyguard was halted when police were called over disruptive audience members.

Friday’s (7 April) evening performance was cut short at Manchester’s Palace Theatre, with some at the venue describing a “mini riot”.

Following the incident, show star Melody Thornton posted a video on social media to say: “I wanted to send a really special message to people in Manchester who came to the show tonight to say thank you so much.

“I respect that you paid your money and I am so grateful to everyone who respects the people on stage who want to give you a beautiful show. For everything that happened tonight, I can’t say… I don’t have all of the details, I just am very, very sorry that we couldn’t finish the show. I fought really hard. It feels awful, and I just hope that we see you again.”

The actress, who currently leads the tour cast as Rachel Marron, continued: “The Bodyguard is a great show. It’s a wonderful story, a love story, and I know people were out to see just a really beautiful show.

“I thank everyone who was respectful of the performers, and I’m very sorry for those who weren’t. I hope that we see you soon. That’s it. Thank you love you.”

In a statement, the Palace Theatre added: “The performance of The Bodyguard at The Palace Theatre, Manchester was stopped at 9.40pm last night and not continued.

“We are disappointed that the last 10 minutes of the show needed to be cancelled due to disruptive customers refusing to stay seated and spoiling the performance for others.

“We are grateful to our venue teams for dealing with these difficult circumstances in a professional and calm way, and to Greater Manchester police for their assistance.

“Future performances will continue as planned and we ask that customers are considerate towards the cast, fellow audience members and theatre team so that everyone can enjoy the wonderful entertainment on stage.”

The musical continues in Manchester all this week as part of its UK tour.