The Beatles are heading for the West End

An insider told The Mirror: "This has been kept under wraps for months but it is a huge opportunity, and the prospect of a Beatles musical is too big to miss.

"It's easy to imagine that it could play for years and years.

"There was a performance this week to show the basics of what the production will be, and all the big players in London's theatre world came along. It's a no-brainer that any theatre will want to host it so there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war to secure it. These are the most famous songs of all time, so it could run and run."

Curtis wrote the film, which Danny Boyle directed, and the pair are said to be working together on the West End version.

Richard previously insisted he would not have been able to make the movie without the backing of The Beatles.

Speaking to Smooth Radio, he said: "It's been wonderful watching these 50 years of progress, and the way that their music has still lasted, and the way that when you go see school plays - you know, at the end of it, if it's about the environment, everyone will sing 'Here Comes the Sun' or 'Octopus's Garden' or something.

"I think if they'd have said no, it would have been impossible. If we were doing a film about a serial killer who loves The Beatles, they might have said no, but it clearly is quite a pro-Beatles thing."