STARS Jimmy Osmond and Emma Barton got a taste of prison life in Oxford today as they prepared to take to the stage in the city.

The actors, who are starring in eight performances of the musical Chicago at the New Theatre this week, toured Malmaison – the hotel at Oxford Castle with converted jail cells as guest rooms.

Mr Osmond, the youngest member of the world-renowned Osmond family, is staying at the hotel with his wife all week.

The 46-year-old, who admitted he wished he had studied at Oxford University, said: “I was a bit nervous about staying in a cell, but it’s very appropriate really. “Usually when I tour we go to a different city every day, so you never get to see anything – it’s nice to be able to stay for a few days.”

Ex-EastEnders actress Emma Barton, 33, added: “It’s the first time I have played a lead role in a big show. It’s a dream come true.

“Oxford’s a great city and I’m blown away by the hotel.”

Chicago is the tale of Roxie Hart (played by Ms Barton), a nightclub singer who kills her lover, Velma Kelly, a glamorous double-murderess vying to keep her Press supremacy, and Billy Flynn, a slick lawyer, played by Mr Osmond. It is being performed at the New Theatre, in George Street, until Saturday.

For tickets, call 0844 847 1585.