Hateley, a veteran of the London stage, first came to prominence as a teenager when she starred in the title role in the original RSC production of the ill-fated musical Carrie in 1988, which originated in Stratford-upon-Avon before transferring to Broadway. She also starred as the Narrator in the 1991 London Palladium revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as Rizzo in Grease at the Dominion Theatre and as Eponine in Les Miserables. She has done previous stints as Roxie Hart in Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre, most recently when she preceded Bonnie Langford in the role, before the musical transferred to its current home at the Cambridge Theatre.