The Pop Idol contestant, Darius Danesh, made his debut in the West End last night in ‘Gone With The Wind’.

There was mixed reactions from critics after the mammoth three and a half hour production of the 1936 Margaret Mitchell novel.

The audience included plenty of stars, Joan Collins, Barbara Windsor, David Frost, Ben Elton, Twiggy, Duncan James and Arlene Philips gave Danesh a standing ovation for his role made famous by Clark Gable in 1939.

The American actress and girlfriend of Danesh, Natasha Henstridge who starred in the Species was their to show her support for the 27-year-old, Scottish singer.

The musical adaption of the film was reported to have cost £4.5 million to put on and Danesh said after his performance “I had a blast, it was my first opening night and it was great to cut my teeth with the inimitable Trevor Nunn.”

The Telegraph critic described most of the songs as “lacklustre” and said that the show was “dreary and unspectacular” as well as there being no sexual chemistry between the two leading characters.  He said that “Jill Plaice is pert, pretty and full of pep, but she misses the viciousness and eroticism the role also demands.  Darius Danesh, meanwhile, seems to be giving a stilted impersonation of Clarke Gable rather than supplying anything original of his own.”

The Times critic gave only two stars out of a possible five and said of Danesh “He has the sauntering suavity that Gable brought to the role of Rhett, but not enough dash and danger.”

Reading many of the early reviews they all seem to refer to the fact that there is something missing from the show.  The Daily Mail critic however, seemed charmed by the performance of Danesh, even though he described him as a “Victorian villain from a Monty Python sketch.”

The Independent critic said “The diabolically dashing Darius Danesh brings a seductively insolent charm, a dark velvet voice and a genuine fugitive pathos to the cynical blockade runner”, and awarded the musical three stars.

The Daily express critic also gave the show three stars despite saying that the production was “frequently dire”, he did however, prais Danesh’s by saying “He is clearly a talented performer and, basically, only his performance saves this show from crumbling into utter mediocrity.”

The Guardian praised the two leading stars, although only giving the show two stars and said “Darius Danesh also endows the morally dubious Rhett Butler with a graceful virility and residual guilt.”