Matt Willis: Cabaret Challenges Toxic Masculinity

has said he thinks it is 'so important' that his son Ace came to see him perform as the Emcee in Cabaret.

The Busted singer, 42, has taken on the role - generally seen as a gender fluid character - in the musical, following in the footsteps of and Alan Cumming. 

Matt and his wife Emma are parents to 14-year-old son Ace and daughters Isabelle, 16, and Trixie, nine.   

Speaking to metro.co.uk, Matt said: 'I think this show puts a middle finger up to toxic masculinity,' he says.

'Cabaret's been around for a long time and it still resonates today. It's not lost on me. My son has come to watch this, and I think that's really important.'

Matt, who trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, looks worlds away from his usual self in the part.

'I wanted no one to recognise me. I wanted it to be a complete transformation and that's what I hold onto,' he said. 'I have a whole routine that gets me into a different world, and I try and stay in that world for the entire performance, and then forget it on my way home.' 

Matt and Emma keep their children's faces hidden on social media but they previously drew attention in 2020 when they shared a photo of a then eight-year-old Ace wearing a pink top.

The photo sparked an intense discussion on social media about gender norms with Matt saying he doesn't want his children worrying about what people say about them.   

Speaking on the Sweat, Snot and Tears podcast in 2022, Matt said: 'I just love my son and I let him be whoever he wants to be.

'I don't see why how you want to dress or how you want to have your hair should be such a big talking point, but it is to some people and that really shocked me.

'And I think what happened after that really made me kind of go, "Yep, stay away from that [social media]". It kind of really cemented that for me. I'm like, "I don't want you having to worry about this s**t right now".'

Emma previously said that she will never stop Ace from wearing a pink top and that she just lets him 'be him'.

The Voice UK presenter told The Sun: 'I think it's a really individual, personal thing. You know, my son likes what he likes, and far be it for me to stop him expressing himself or experimenting however he likes with clothes.

'I see it as hair is hair, clothes are clothes and colour is colour. And, you know, if my son wants to wear a pink top, I'm certainly not going to stop him. 

'Let kids explore. Kids love exploring. And they don't just have to explore in the dirt with worms and spiders, they can explore with colour and clothes and hair. I just let him be him.'

Emma also said she would never try and 'suppress' the way her son Ace dresses as it's his way of 'expressing himself'.

Speaking to Fabulous magazine, she said: 'Say what you want about me, I'm big enough to take it on the chin. But when you get comments like that regarding your children, it just makes the Hulk want to come out and scream at the world.

'I'm so protective of my kids and this was just a young boy expressing himself the way he wants to. I thought: 'Did you not watch '80s dance movies? All the boys wore crop tops and it was cool!'

'He is very individual, he dresses the way he wants and he's really happy doing that. Why would I try to suppress that?'