How The Wanted star returned to stage after “rough” time following secret second heart operation

BY his own admission, it's “a rough few months” for The Wanted singer Max George but he's now back at work with a bang.

Flying Eze was there to see the star to return to the stage after two heart operations – and he stormed it.

Max put on an impassioned performance as a tortured priest in The War of the Worlds this weekend and received rapturous applause after battling his way back to fitness.

Watching him play the angst ridden role to perfection, wringing out every emotion, Max proved he has firmly put his heart scare behind him.

The 36 year old was fitted with a pacemaker in December after being rushed to A&E by his mum who had noticed he had “turned blue”.

A month later, he secretly went under the knife again after the device's wires were fitted too deeply, causing Max to experience a ‘flickering sensation'.

He told Flying Eze on Sunday: “I was trying to get back to good health but was still having a flickering sensation for weeks after I had my pacemaker fitted and it was gradually getting worse and worse.”

Max was told the procedure could cause a dangerous bleed on his heart, saying: “The night before I was really nervous. I didn't sleep much.”

He had to postpone The Wanted 2.0's Manchester Cathedral concert in February.

But he looked fighting fight as he played Parson Nathaniel in Jeff Wayne's version of HG Wells' classic book, The War of the Worlds.

Max performed with exactly the right amount of edginess without going over the top, channelling the angst of a minister whose faith is wrecked by an alien invasion.

By Max's side was actress girlfriend Maisie Smith who delivered a surprise performance as the parson's wife, Beth.

The award-winning EastEnders star, who played Tiffany Butcher, had great stage presence and proved her mettle with her crystal clear voice.

Max and Maisie met while competing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2020, but they didn’t start dating until the live tour two years later.

There's no doubt the pair have grown even closer since Max's health scare and their on-stage chemistry is explosive.

Max said: “Getting to do this with Maisie is an experience I'm sure I'll never forget.

“The last few months have been rough, but after a lot of hard work and rehabilitation, I'm back to my best and will be performing for the whole tour.”

The couple weren't the only stars of the show.

Busted's Charlie Simpson was the singing voice of the narrator's inner thoughts.

Charlie admits the production is an “entirely new thing” for him and the nerves showed before he got into his swing. He did leave the women in the front row of me swooning with appreciation though.

It's easy to see why Jeff Wayne chose rock star Nathan James, of Inglorious, as the voice of humanity with his swagger and powerful pipes.

Of course the night's biggest shout out went to composer Jeff Wayne who, at 81, is still directing the musical version of Wells' terrifying vision of aliens taking over the earth.

On stage, a 34 foot mechanical alien, steam punk inspired props and some pretty impressive pyrotechnics left fans agog.

I was seven when Wayne's War of the Worlds album was released but still remember being awe-struck by the oooh-laaa noise of the aliens and the heart-beat strains as red weed as it consumed the earth.

Like me, most of the audience were of a ‘certain age' and recall listening to the soundtrack on vinyl but they brought along plenty of next generation fans.

The story is told by a hologram of Liam Neeson, who plays the main role as the journalist, as the insanely talented Black Smoke Band and ULLAdubULLA strings orchestra bring Wayne's score to life.

The are some jarring moments in the production though, which has been touring since its first outing in 2006.

The 100 ft screen story-telling is pretty basic and doesn't quite fit a world now dominated with technological advances.

Black and white images of Victorian Britain fill the screen along with images of marauding aliens but, with a pre-record ensemble added to the mix, it's all a bit messy.

That said, if you're a fan of Jeff Wayne of just fancy an out-of-this world night out give it a whirl.

• The War of the Worlds: Spirit of Man tours until April 20 when it closes at The O2 in London. www.myticket.co.uk