Ariana Grande says she channelled personal loss into Wicked role

She says that appearing in Wicked, which was one of the first Broadway shows she saw as a child, “feels like a homecoming”.

“This music has always brought such comfort and now being able to spend time with it and be trusted with it is the privilege of a lifetime”.

In the weeks running up to the film’s release the close relationship between Grande and her co-star Cynthia Erivo has been in the spotlight.

“From the moment we were cast, Cynthia invited me over and we hung out for five hours and we laughed and we cried and got to know each other.

“We had a real conversation right off the bat about creating a safe space for each other and being honest with each other,” she says.

Grande and Erivo’s characters begin in the Oz universe as university students, before later becoming enemies as Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West.

Erivo, 37, has described her role as “a real honour” and nods to the foundations formed by the original stage actors Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, who she calls “the architects”.

“We’ve been handed something really special and it’s a dream come true and truly big shoes to fill,” she adds.