Beverley Knight to play Emmeline Pankhurst in The Old Vic Theatre show

Wolverhampton-born Knight will play the role of Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia at the iconic The Old Vic Theatre.

Sylvia, which will celebrate the life of Sylvia Pankhurst and the centenary of the Suffragette movement, will begin at the theatre in September.

The show, which has been co-written by Kate Prince and Priya Parmar, will shed a new light on the story of the Suffragette movement – 100 years after the first women in Britain were granted the vote.

And a new photo released by the Old Vic on Twitter shows Bev in costume for the role alongside cast members Carly Bawden, Genesis Lynea and Whitney White who play Clementine Churchill, Sylvia Pankhurst and Christabel Pankhurst respectively.

Bev had previously took to Twitter to tell the world she was “well chuffed” about the show and urged her fans to go and see the production.

But it was not far from criticism, when a Twitter troll tweeted the star arguing she should not play the role of Emmeline Pankhurst because she is not white like the suffragette.

The tweet has since been deleted but the star took the opportunity to highlight black and minority ethnic characters overtime that have been played by white actors – earning her support from hundreds of her fans.

And just last week Beverley also stood up to criticism from a different Twitter troll, who claimed the BBC asking her about the late Aretha Franklin was 'lazy'.

Critical Denise Stephenson wrote in regards to the show Aretha Franklin: Respect: "Why ask Beverley Knight to speak about Aretha? What does she know? She wasn't even born! Sorry, Aretha deserved more than that."

But the soul singer hit back saying: "I'm 45. I grew up listening to The Queen like every soul artist, so a fair bit as it goes... I guess according to your logic, we should bin all historical learning once it’s beyond living memory, I mean, who will be qualified to teach it eh?"

Sylvia is at The Old Vic between September 3 and September 22 and tickets are available now. The premiere will take place on September 11.

Tickets are priced between £12 and £45 – with the show recommended for people aged ten and above.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.oldvictheatre.com.