Darius Danesh's flop musical Gone With The Wind closes

Darius Danesh's flop musical Gone With The Wind has been axed after only 79 performances.

The Scots singer and actor had been praised for his performance as Rhett Butler in the £4million production.

But the show, directed by Trevor Nunn, finally fell victim to falling ticket sales and a mauling by the critics.

The end of the show is a setback for Darius, 27, from Bearsden, Glasgow.

The former Pop Idol contestant had been regarded as one of the rising stars of the West End after appearing in Chicago and the Olivier Award-winning Guys And Dolls.

The producers had hoped to take Gone With The Wind to Broadway but that move now seems unlikely.

Producer Aldo Scrofani said: "From the beginning of our journey, we have all worked hard to achieve the realisation of putting Margaret Mitchell's classic novel, Gone With The Wind on the London stage.

"Despite the critical response, the company have enjoyed much praise from audience members during our run and for that we are grateful.

"Nevertheless, we have made the difficult decision to close the production and plans for a New York production are on hold.

"But in the meantime, we are pursuing various options that have been presented to us from interested parties worldwide."

Via dailyrecord.co.uk