A BURY boy and two other teenagers have spoken of their joy at playing the role of their idol Michael Jackson in the West End performance of Thriller-Live.

The boys, all aged 13, will star in the production which celebrates the king of pop’s life and features his greatest hits.

Layton Williams, from Wren Drive, Bury, Sterling Williams, from south London, and Kieran Alleyne, from Leicester, rehearsed together at the Lyric Theatre on Wednesday.

Layton, the most experienced of the three stars, was the first black Billy Elliot and the second longest-running star in the show’s history. He finished working on Billy Elliot on November 30.

He said that living up to the king of pop will be very challenging, and added: “It’s quite scary that we have to be him because he was so amazing. I’m just going to have to do my best.”

The opening performance of Thriller-Live is on January 2.