Jamie Parker... the North-East actor has been nominated in the Best Actor Award section of the WhatsOnStage awards for his work in the hugely-successful West End run of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which has 11 entries across nine categories.

The play opened this year to rapturous reviews and sell-out ticket sales. Other nominations include Best Play, Best Director for John Tiffany, Best Supporting Actor in a Play for Anthony Boyle and Paul Thornley and Best Supporting Actress in a Play for Noma Dumezweni and Poppy Miller. Producer Sonia Friedman has also earned a nomination, with Dreamgirls and Funny Girl earning a potential total of 21 mentions in the list being put forward.

Parker has tough competition because he's up up against Ian Hallard for The Boys in the Band, Ian McKellen for No Man's Land, Ralph Fiennes for Richard III and Kenneth Branagh for The Entertainer. Best Actress in a Play nominees are Helen McCrory for The Deep Blue Sea, Billie Piper for Yerma, Pixie Lott for Breakfast at Tiffany's, Lily James for Romeo and Juliet and Michelle Terry for Henry V.

The WhatsOnStage awards are the only major ceremony decided entirely by public vote, giving

The winners of the 17th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards will be announced at a public ceremony on Sunday, February 19 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. The public can vote until January 31 at http://awards.whatsonstage.com/?utm_source=banners&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=01dec2016 .