IT was, said Gary Barlow, one of his greatest days – as the musical based on Take That’s catalogue of chart-topping hits enjoyed a private UK premiere onboard P&O Cruises’ newest ship, Arvia.

The invitation-only event was staged while the ship was docked in Southampton today and Gary was guest of honour as a talented cast turned in a show fans will certainly never forget.

Greatest Days, The Official Take That Musical, written by Tim Firth, is a story about friendship and music and focuses on five 16-year-old girls in 1993 for whom Take That is everything.

The show follows the girls as they reunite after 25 years apart and try to fulfil their dream of meeting the boy band whose music became the soundtrack to their lives.

It’s soundtracked by the music of Take That, including Never Forget, Back for Good, A Million Love Songs, Greatest Day, The Flood, Relight My Fire, Shine and Rule the World.

The specially invited audience of travel professionals and media gave the production a rapturous standing ovation, leaving Gary, sitting at the front, with a huge smile on his face.

“One of the main things we definitely wanted to get into our show was a sense of friendship because that’s something our band has been built on from day one,” he said afterwards. “To this day friendship’s very important to us.

“Greatest Days talks about friendship, love and life and it was fantastic to see the extremely talented P&O Cruises cast bring the characters and songs to life and make today’s performance so special. It’s a standing ovation from us every time!

“The other big thing for us to try to get across in this show was to turn the mirror on the audience because our audience have been with us for ever and we love them so much. It wasn’t a celebration of Take That, it was a celebration of our audience.”

Earlier in the week, Gary had been joined by Take That bandmates Mark Owen and Howard Donald to watch rehearsals for the show, which will be staged regularly in the ship’s Headliners Theatre as Arvia carries passengers on cruise holidays.

Take That will next be seen when they headline the special concert being staged at Windsor Castle this Sunday to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.

Images used in this post by Christopher Ison.