Many things (low rise jeans, telly talent shows, Coldplay) deserve to stay firmly in 2002. But as this glorious musical adaptation shows, Footballers’ Wives, the glossy ITV drama about the wives and girlfriends of the fictional Earls Park FC’s players, is not one of them. Sequinned, sparkled and stuffed with strong female leads, it’s a high-camp spectacle that’s already packing out the Assembly Rooms, with a part crime caper, part hospital drama and part wedding-day-splash-in-OK! magazine plot that’s never less than full bedlam and total bobbins. In short, it’s bloody brilliant.

Although the staging is pretty simple, there’s not a dull moment. ‘Who wouldn’t wanna be us?’ declares an opening number that goes on to bemoan the effort required to keep one perfectly manicured fingernail ahead of the ‘faster and fitter/younger and prettier’ ones coming up behind.

Kath Gotts’ tongue-in-cheek lyrics are a thing of absolute beauty that reward the careful listen (‘It’s more than just diplomacy/when someone’s in a coma, see?’) and a powerhouse cast do them full justice. In particular, Ceili O’Connor as Tanya Turner raises the roof, though one of the best moments is reserved for Nurse Dunkley’s transformation song (Gillian Kirkpatrick, clearly having the time of her life). It would be so easy for the balance to tip in a show like this: it’s a serious sing that can never take itself seriously. Thankfully, they get it spot on: ‘subtle’ isn’t in its vocabulary, but then, that didn’t hurt the Beckhams, did it?

Footballers’ Wives: The Musical, Assembly Rooms, until 24 August, 6.35pm; main picture: Alex Brenner.