Sheridan Smith pulls out of West End show Funny Girl for four weeks due to 'stress and exhaustion'

TV and theatre star Sheridan Smith has pulled out of her leading role in hit West End musical Funny Girl for up to a month due to "stress and exhaustion."

Last month the 34-year-old denied accusations she was drunk on stage during a performance at the Savoy Theatre, after the curtain came down after just 35 minutes.

The theatre cancelled the rest of the show and blamed "technical difficulties."

She returned the next day and was awarded a standing ovation, but the Cilla star has been absent from the last three show, including last night's performance.

Understudy Natasha Barnes will replace her, Funny Girl's producers have confirmed.

The team said it is "thinking of Sheridan ... during this difficult and stressful time."

Smith first missed a performance on Monday 9 May, the night after the Baftas TV ceremony, where host Graham Norton opened the show with a joke that appeared to be at her expense.

He said: "We're all excited for a couple of drinks tonight. Or, as it's known in theatrical circles, a few glasses of 'technical difficulties'."

Smith revealed in a later-deleted tweet that her father Colin, 76, had been diagnosed with cancer, 26 years after her brother Julian died from the disease.

She also used Twitter to hit out at suggestions that she was reeling from not winning the Best Actress Bafta for her role in The C Word and accused the press of "bullying."

Smith has not tweeted since May 10, when she said apologised to her fans.

"I love you who have my back, beyond belief. Sorry x."

She has now closed her Twitter account to the public.

The Savoy theatre said Smith was "indisposed".

Funny Girl is showing at the Savoy until October 8.