PHEW! Is it me or is it hot in here?

I seem to have come over all peculiar since visiting the Bristol Hippodrome this week to see former Wet Wet Wet star Marti Pellow getting downright dirty in the musical adaptation of The Witches of Eastwick.

He plays (who else?) Darryl Van Horne, the role made famous by the charismatic Jack Nicholson in the 1987 film, and I was worried the once clean-cut pop heart throb might not be able to deliver the same degree of raunch.

No worries there.

Pellow slinks onto the stage with that same cheeky grin you’ll remember, now tweaked into a sexy smile, then proceeds to seduce every woman in the theatre, let alone in Eastwick - and probably quite a few of the men as well.

This is not a show for children, nor even the mildly prudish. The devilish Van Horne preys on three lonely middle-aged women, casting a spell over their senses and convincing them to share his morning, afternoon and evening delights.

His persuasive techniques are never subtle - there’s more grinding, thrusting, groping and tweaking than a girl usually sees of an evening (well, a Monday evening anyway).

But sex always provides plenty of opportunties for humour and, trust me, there’s plenty of both.

Eventually the whole town, including his harem, tire of Van Horne and his detructively devilish ways and ... well, if you’ve seen the film you’ll know how it ends.

The entire cast is strong, but especially the three lead women, whose harmonies ring out loud and clear and who are brave enough to take to the stage in their undies. And how could I forget Fidel, Van Horne’s man servant, played by Oliver Walker, who treats the audience to a sight more commonly seen on the chicken shelf at Sainsbury’s.

But it’s Marti Pellow who makes this show. Who’d have thought that sweet little chap with the spiky hair could have such a wonderfully wicked side?

That Pellow fellow is one horny little devil - and man, did he make me feel devilish. - MICHELLE TOMPKINS