Behind the scenes secrets from Madame Tussauds

Roxy Simons
Updated
Studio artists Sophie Greenaway (left) and Claire Parkes add the finishing touches to King Charles II and a new Queen Consort wax figure at Madame Tussauds in London, ahead of the coronation of King Charles III on May 6. Picture date: Wednesday April 26, 2023.
Studio artists Sophie Greenaway (left) and Claire Parkes add the finishing touches to King Charles II and a new Queen Consort wax figure at Madame Tussauds in London. (Getty) (Yui Mok, PA Images)

Madame Tussauds has a long history as one of London's most popular attractions, allowing visitors to get up and close with celebrities they may otherwise not have a chance to see in real life.

The attraction has been open for almost 200 years, and in that time has developed a lot of interesting history that visitors may not be aware of. Lead sculptor Stephen Mansfield and Head of Studios Jo Kinsey share just some of them with Yahoo UK, answering some of our most burning questions to give insight into how the attraction works and what it's like behind the scenes.

An unveiling of the Harry Styles wax figure at Madame Tussauds in London, dressed in an outfit inspired by his fashion choice at the My Policeman premiere in 2022. Picture date: Wednesday July 26, 2023.
The attraction has been open for almost 200 years and has a long history, with Head of Studios Jo Kinsey revealing to Yahoo UK that Harry Styles is one of the most popular figures at the attraction. (Getty) (James Manning, PA Images)

The attraction in London is about to unveil its newest figure, a figure of Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who, but the most popular figure currently on display may be a surprise.

Kinsey admits that the popularity of a statue "varies" over time, but right now "Bollywood stars are very popular, extremely popular", adding: "Harry Styles, I would put up there too. I'd say they were the ones."

Read more: Alison Hammond delighted by Madame Tussauds waxwork reveal

"Actually people like to have their photo taken with the Queen [Elizabeth II], or the King and Queen at the moment," she adds.

Kinsey's team work on-site in London to ensure the figures are all up to par and well maintained, and this is especially necessary for the popular figures: "It's the only time we can get up close to those people. So shoulders, with those figures, tend to get a little bit worn, but that's why we have a team to correct that."

**ALTERNATE CROP OF LENT102** Madame Tussauds studio team members put the final touches to a wax figure of U.S singer Britney Spears, centre, London, Tuesday, June 02, 2009, in preparation of her arrival for the UK leg of her Circus world tour. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)
Jo Kinsey's team work on-site to ensure the figures are all up to par, especially for popular figures: "It's the only time we can get up close to those people... so they tend to get a little bit word." (AP Photo) (Joel Ryan, Associated Press)

One fact that visitors may not realise is that Madame Tussauds is often donated clothes for their wax figures, in the case of Gatwa's Doctor Who figure it is fitted into an outfit the actor wore whilst filming the episode Space Babies.

This isn't the only time a figure has been given such an item, Kinsey says: "The initial ask would be to have clothes provided by talent which is authentic, and especially if they've worn it that's just wonderful. If they want a red carpet too that's wonderful, we love to shout about that.

"There's little things that just really make it, if we can't have a donation we would work with the designer so we have done that recently with Queen Camilla Queen, we worked with Jenny Packman."

US-French actor Timothee Chalamet waves to fans during a red carpet event for the film
Madame Tussauds' figure of Timothee Chalamet has shoes that were actually worn by the star. (Getty Images) (JUNG YEON-JE via Getty Images)

"It is wonderful to have the original clothes, if we can," Mansfield adds. "Especially as if they have been worn already, because then they will have stretched in places, the shoes will have buckled in the right place and all that really adds to the effectiveness of the figure."

Kinsey goes on: "I think an example actually of shoes [used by wax figures that] have been worn, Timothee Chalamet gave shoes owned by him."

The on-site team are always ensuring that the clothes are not damaged after each day, sewing pockets, checking handbags and even jewellery to ensure everything is as it should be.

London, United Kingdom - August 24, 2017: The Beatles in Madame Tussauds of London
The Beatles in Madame Tussauds London, the studios team work hard to maintain the figures but sometimes the wax figures will be retired so the floor isn't too busy. (PA Images) (Zoonar/NATALIIA ZHEKOVA, Zoonar GmbH)

While the attraction is often adding figures and changing displays there are figures that have been there for decades, if not over a hundred years. The oldest one in Madame Tussauds is Sleeping Beauty, which Kinsey reveals was created by the founder Marie Tussaud herself.

"It's actually a breathing figure," Kinsey says. "So probably it's the first animatronic that we have. She is in a spot at the moment where just can't get to her. She's lying on a couch, Sleeping Beauty."

Reflecting on what it takes to maintain a figure that old, she goes on: "What happens to the wax over time it does become quite brittle, becomes quite hard, so it's hard to maintain. So the wax can have curiosity scratches when guests will accidentally scratch it.

"With newer figures it's easier for us to fix the scratch but with older figures the wax is quite brittle, quite solid, and so it's prone to breakage. So she is in her spot at the moment, she's on display in a certain area, but sort of protected."

Studio artists Luisa Compobassi (left), Caryn Mitanni (back) and Jo Kinsey (right) make their final touches to the wax figure of Queen Elizabeth II at Madame Tussauds London ahead the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Picture date: Wednesday May 25, 2022. (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)
Jo Kinsey said of retiring figures: "It's always very difficult to remove a figure, it's never an easy process or conversation to have." (PA Images via Getty Images) (Victoria Jones - PA Images via Getty Images)

Kinsey and her team also work on keeping the attraction up to date, including the decision making behind taking a figure out of service — as it were.

"The process behind it is to make space for the up and coming figures, and not be too overcrowded on floor," she says of retiring figures. "It's always very difficult to remove a figure, it's never an easy process or conversation to have.

"We do have an extensive archive so we can pull a figure account if we need to, and there's no one answer to that. I guess it's dependent on the month, news moves fast now and so it it's dependent on the month of the year."

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 26: KSI poses beside his waxwork figure by Madame Tussauds at The O2 during KSI's weigh-in ahead of his boxing match against Swarmz and Pineda on August 26, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
New wax figures are chosen based on people the studio feels are up-and-coming stars, and also based on visitor reviews. (Getty Images) (Anthony Devlin via Getty Images)

The up and coming figures are chosen through a mixture of things, firstly because of how popular a celebrity is and secondly based on audience response.

“We're always keeping an eye on talent. We like to be ahead of the game,” Kinsey explains. “So we like to think of who's up and coming, what's our guest feedback?

"We ask guests for feedback, when they exit the attraction, who's up and coming, who is a shining star. With Ncuti, he’s just iconic, this series is iconic so I guess that's how we chose him.”

Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor Who wax figure will be unveiled at Madame Tussauds on Friday, 19 July.

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