A West End and Broadway star dropped by a Romford performing arts school on Monday to give a singing workshop to students.

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Gavin Creel, currently starring in The Book of Mormon at The Prince of Wales Theatre, took time out of rehearsals to meet third year students at CPA Studios, in North Street.

%image(15388569, type="article-full", alt="Students said they were "inspired" by Gavin's workshop.")

He showcased his talents during the two-hour session, giving hints and tips to the enthusiastic students and also delivering one-to-one advice.

The workshop was a big hit with the drama students at the centre, which runs both full and part-time classes.

Lauren Stone, of Romford, said: “He was truly amazing! I felt so inspired and motivated with his positive attitude. I felt I made progress in the short time we had that I can carry on for the rest of my training.”

Having produced talents including James Buckley of Inbetweeners fame and Rochelle Humes and Frankie Sandford from The Saturday’s, the current crop of students, aged between 19 and 22, are hoping for similar success in their careers.

Josie Webster, of Kent, said: “He immediately made us feel comfortable and happy to take risks with our performances. He helped me to discover a completely different side to my song.

“We all learnt so much. We couldn’t write down his words of wisdom fast enough.”

Gavin has also starred in the original Broadway cast of Thoroughly Modern Millie.

He said of his visit: “I absolutely loved it, there was such a great atmosphere when I arrived and you could tell it was a real place of inspiration and hard work.”