WEDDING bells will signal a star-studded marriage on Sunday.

Forget Edward and Sophie! The Wedding of the Year will be held here in Leigh . . . in the Victorian splendour of St Joseph's RC Church.

In the afternoon sunshine Joseph Shovelton, one of the town's favourite and famous sons, will marry Phantom of The Opera star Charlotte Page (pictured).

And the ceremony pictures have been snapped up in an exclusive Hello! magazine deal.

Joseph, now 31 and a former pupil at St Joseph's School and St Mary's RC High, has made his name in the world of musical theatre.

From St Mary's, where he appeared in many school productions, he moved on to study at the Guild Hall School of Music at London's Barbican, later featuring in a variety of roles, particularly in light opera.

Last year he landed the role of Nanky Poo in The Mikado at the Royal Festival Hall, playing opposite Charlotte, his bride-to-be. He has just returned from a concert tour in Egypt.

Charlotte has since April been playing the lead role of Christine in the hit West End production of Phantom.

The couple, who have made visits to Leigh to watch productions at St Joseph's Players,first met some two years ago and worked together on a cruise ship around India.

It is a time of real celebration for the Shovelton family.

His parents, Joseph and Josephine have celebrated their 70th birthdays in the past week, and on Sunday nephew John made his First Communion at St Joseph's.

There, on Sunday, deacon Bernard Worden, a great friend of the family, will perform the marriage service.

St Joseph's Church, where Joseph also made his First Communion, is steeped in history.

The Catholic community in the Bedford area goes back some 300 years, masses often being said in a local farmhouse. A chapel was built in 1779, but that proved inadequate for a growing population which showed a vast increase with an influx of Irish immigrants escaping the country's potato famine. The present church was built in 1855 to a design by Joseph Hansom, famous for his horse-drawn carriage.

Another of St Joseph's famous sons was tenor Tom Burke, the Lancashire Caruso, who was a chorister in the church.

The reception will be held at Ashfield House, Standish.

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