UNFORESEEN circumstances beyond the producers' control have put paid to the UK tour of 69 Shades Of Black, including shows at Scarborough Spa on May 3, Hull New Theatre on May 29 and York Barbican on May 30.

Steps star turned go-to actress Faye Tozer had been due to play Christina Black, head of one of the country’s top advertising agencies, in this "sassy, saucy, uproariously funny new comedy with its whip-crackingly riotous script", fresh from starring as Lina Lamont, opposite Maxwell Caulfield, in Singin' In The Rain.

Should the tour have gone ahead, you would have seen Tozer's Christina taking a shine to new boy William Shight, a boring and vanilla sort whose most interesting trait had been his snigger-inducing surname...until the boss attempts to seduce him with an indecent proposal in a script co-written by director Michael Courtney, Chris Taylor and Fraser Boyle.

William tries in vain to resist but eventually relents and signs a 69-page contract, the one Christina intends to use to make a man out of him. "The 20 pages of “don’t” and 49 pages of “do whatever the hell I want” will lead William on the hilariously painful journey of a lifetime," the show's publicity promised.

Faye Tozer's musical theatre credits have taken in Tell Me On A Sunday, Love Shack, Saucy Jack And The Space Vixens, in the lead role of Jubilee Climax, and the premiere of The Tailor Made Man, in which she originated the part of Marion Davies.

She made her film debut as Lady Godiva in the British feature Lady Godiva... Back In The Saddle, and Christina Black would have been another new addition to her portfolio.

"Since Fifty Shades Of Grey came out, and now the film, it's all been very flavour of the month but why I like 69 Shades Of Black is that it's a twist in that the woman is in control," Faye told What's On, before the cancellation. "It's a good girls' night out and a lot more humorous than Fifty Shades; it's like an adult Carry On pantomime...but it's not that closely linked to Fifty Shades that you could say it's a satire".

Alas, we shall not know now whether 69 Shades was indeed "whip-crackingly riotous", so what might Faye's next step be? Could it be the return of Steps? "I've just recently been speaking to Claire [Richards]and we said we like to say it's 'lying dormant at the moment', though I think we'd like to do something again, so you could say that Steps are not over yet," she says.

Meanwhile, refunds for 69 Shades Of Black are available from the point of sale.