It was one of the most extraordinary nights Ive ever had in the theatre, he says. After speeches from Cameron Mackintosh, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schnberg, the performance concluded with pupils from school productions of Les Misrables entering the arena. My parents came from working backgrounds, and became successful and middle class, and therefore were able to give us as kids the best they thought they could. He adds: I never put myself into any kind of class., Ball, 58, has defied labels, even if critics seem to have their own image of him. Producers need to have confidence that they can put productions together knowing that, if they have to be cancelled, theyre covered. A lyric baritone, Ball also sang the role of Valjean at a special concert performance of Les Misrables for the Queen and her guests at Windsor Castle in 2004. However, while Cathy was a prolific BBC journalist and presenter at the time, she has. On 26 December 2014, Ball starred in Victoria Wood's musical That Day We Sang, reuniting him with his Sweeney Todd co-star Imelda Staunton. DON'T MISSDolly Parton teases her famous assets for new Playboy cover recreation [PICS]Lorraine Kelly slams Dominic Cummings for 'smirking' in BBC interview [REACTION]Piers Morgan blasts 'selfish' Prince Harry for memoir and release date[LATEST]. Patrick Reynolds has seen many of his relatives die from the consequences of cigarettes and is now an anti-tobacco activist. Ive never heard an ovation like it for the cast. I genuinely am playing my gran, he says with a laugh. Ball took a trip to his old home in Plymouth before embarking on the final leg of his tour. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. Im godfather to both of them. He explained: "It was a really scary thing. Michael Ball, 59, has revealed he felt an "instant connection" the first time he set eyes on his long-term girlfriend, Cathy McGowan, 78, after she first interviewed him back in 1992. Ball has also turned his hand to presenting both on TV and radio. 2023 BBC. They were broadcast in 2016,2017,2019. In 1998 Ball performed at three big concerts: The Fiftieth Birthday Concert of Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Royal Albert Hall (released on DVD), Sondheim Tonight at the Barbican Centre (released on CD) and Hey, Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh (released on CD and DVD). presenter when she interviewed him during Aspects of Love. The original 1985 cast then led the ensemble in a performance of "One Day More". If it had been diagnosed early, among other things, she certainly wouldn't have suffered acute hydrocephalus [a build up of fluid on the brain] and had needed a shunt for the rest of her life. I had a nice chat with him, says Ball, with a theatrical grimace. His first regular show on Radio 2 was Michael Ball's Sunday Brunch in 2008, replacing Michael Parkinson whose show Parkinson's Sunday Supplement had ended the previous year. I totally respect her desire for privacy. There I was onTop of the Pops. In 2010, Ball presented 30 episodes of The Michael Ball Show, his own daytime series for ITV. Michael Ball is a singer, presenter, and actor from England. But the one constant in my life was Wales, and my gran and Mountain Ash [her town in the Cynon Valley], and I always felt a kinship with that., His grandmother, Agnes, known as Lil, was a huge influence on him as a performer. Michael Ball on Eurovision offer from BBC, Michael Ball, 58, hits back at 'toyboy' suggestion with partner, 78, Michael Ball teased Harry as he did 'not see enough of his house', Michael Ball reveals why he has never married his long-time partner, Loose Women fans accuse Michael Ball of miming, Alex Jones halts Caroline Quentin as she risks spoiling announcement, Michael Ball: I've become a songwriter after surviving an anxious year, Dan Walker addresses The One Show appearance after item pointed out. Their relationship has lasted, he says, because we love each other. In an unearthed interview, the Les Misrables star said she saved his life. He is the son of Tony Ball, who was the head of global sales for British Leyland Ball, and Ruth Ball, his mother. Michael Ball OBE - a multitalented artist who excels at his craft. Express. The hard work has been worth it and this is just the icing on the cake. Express. "My wife died one week after her 46th birthday in July 2002. Michael Ball, 58, is well-known as a singing sensation after he has been performing in the West End since the 1980s. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. She's a unique, wonderful person," he said in a 2019 interview withExpress.co.uk. 10. I hoped that people would continue to ask me to work. "She had her career and is more than happy that the focus is on me now, and shes the best at giving me advice and strength and looking after me," he explained. The Shooting Star Children's Hospice and CHASE Hospice Care for Children joined together to become Shooting Star CHASE in 2011 and Ball is a patron for this charity. However, has stayed out of the spotlight since then, which Micheal has previously opened up about. Were all, to a greater or lesser extent, plagued by the same things., He credits his partner, Cathy McGowan, for being a stabilising influence on him. It destroyed all my memorabilia - gold records, videos and CDs - and it didnt matter because everyone was all right.. His other West End roles include Giorgio in Passion (1997) and Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (2002). Michael Ball, 58, is an actor, singer and broadcaster who first gained notoriety when he made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original production of Les Miserables -. Ball then headed to Glasgow and Aberdeen before returning for shows in London, Birmingham and Northampton. He continued to present his Sunday morning Radio 2 show, and occasionally BBC Ones The One Show. I just withdrew. Ball left the show, spent about nine months virtually housebound and thought he would never work again. More info. It will be only the second performance of Hairspray, in which Ball plays the matriarch Edna Turnblad, and he is still on a high from opening night. Mike was at home at the time of his passing, with his dog Murphy at his left sid She understood the need to have focus and stability at the beginning of my career and shes been crucial to everything.. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This is split into five sections: Musicals, Love Songs, Personal Favourites, Party Time, and Unplugged. When we met we had an instant connection, he added. But many in the arts are freelancers so theyre left high and dry; theyre not furloughed. Ball took part in many promotional activities at the end of the 2006 to coincide with the release of his album One Voice. Michael Ball, 59, has revealed he felt an instant connection the first time he set eyes on his long-term girlfriend, Cathy McGowan, 78, after she first interviewed him back in 1992. As part of the role, she interviewed Michael for his musical and the pair struck up a relationship in the 1990s. You get to the other side, and you learn of the vulnerability of all of us. We were friends while I was doing the show in London, then I moved to Broadway and things blossomed, he added. Michael Ball teased Harry as he did 'not see enough of his house'[INSIGHT]Michael Ball reveals why he has never married his long-time partner[PICTURES]Loose Women fans accuse Michael Ball of miming[VIDEO]. The door closes and Im at home, and its very real. The pair met in the 1980s and have lived together since 1992. Ball appeared on a number of television and radio programmes to promote the album. Michael then added: If youve got someone fighting your corner, someone who loves you and you love, and is also really, really clever, the battle is so much easier. He was also a regular stand-in presenter for Ken Bruce until 2016 on the station. On 18 November 2013, Ball guest presented an episode of teatime chat show The Paul O'Grady Show after Paul O'Grady was taken ill. On 24 November 2013, he guest starred as himself in the British sitcom Toast of London. No one would mention it if I were the older one. Shed never give an interview about it, shes not interested in looking back, he added to The Big Issue. "It's irrelevant. I remember she came to interview me [for the musical Aspects Of Love] and at first we were friends and then it was more than that. ", READ MORE:Michael Ball's partner Cathy saved singer's life during 'scary' fire. Ruth Ball, a Welsh mother, and Tony Ball, an English father, had a son named Michael Ball. while Cousins was in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics. ", Interviews have been amended from previous version. She was wrongly diagnosed and the doctor ignored her complaint as, at 36 years old, she was too young to have cancer, he said, despite her mother dying of cancer when my wife was a child, and four of her sisters now having cancer. I could be funny. He was good at mimicking the teachers and doing impressions of things that had been on TV. But when the couple'sage difference croppedup into conversation,he pointed out how it would not be spoken about as frequentlyif he was the olderone in their relationship. Towards the end of 2007, Ball recorded his 15th solo album for release on 15 October of that year. "My wife died one week after her 46th. Despite growing up in Devon and Surrey, he says: I feel Welsh, then stops and questions himself. The album reached number one in the UK album charts and, although Ball has had many hits, this is his first solo number 1 selling album in 26 years. My public life is insane, but once that front door closes I leave that version of myself outside and I just like to relax at home.. They met when McGowan, a former TV presenter, interviewed him when he was appearing in Lloyd-Webbers Aspects of Love, and have been together for 30 years. She really encouraged that creativity in all of us as kids we had this amazing dressing-up box, so we could create costumes and plays.. As soon as I get a job, Im thinking: What the hell am I going to do after this one? Ive got to learn not to do that so much. He really does have to go now. Cathy had a brief appearance co-hosting a show with Alexei Sayle and Jonathan Ross in 1991. Ball has presented The National Lottery Draws and Children in Need. Michael continued: It was a really scary thing. They have long been a symbol of purity. And shes been there, done that and bought the T-shirt, and has no interest in interviews or pictures. The pair have been together since 1992 after a chance meeting when she interviewed. ", Michael opened up about their 20-year age gap. That also wasnt something he had given that much thought to before. Ball likes to say he has never been fashionable so he can never go out of fashion. Ball embarked on an extensive British tour during March and April 2007. It was a sporty school, and I wasnt. Ball was interested in the theatre and his father took him to see shows in the school holidays, including a Royal Shakespeare Company production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre of King Lear, which impressed him as a youngster of about 14 years' age. When ovarian cancer killed Angela McGowan it robbed a family of a wife and a mother; and Michael Ball of the woman who had united him with the "love of his life" - former Ready, steady, Go presenter Cathy McGowan. Double act: Michael Ball, pictured with his partner of 22 years Cathy McGowan, says he's happily a one woman man Another devotee, Julia, first saw Michael on stage in 1985, when she was 15. Casts of the current London, international tour and original 1985 London productions took part, comprising an ensemble of 300 performers and musicians. Ball represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 held in Malm, Sweden, singing the song "One Step Out of Time", which finished second. I think thats been very useful over this last year. Ball lives with the former presenter of Ready Steady Go!, Cathy McGowan. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. "Im too old to be a toyboy, and age has never been an issue or thought about. Andrew Bailey took his daughter to the United States for treatment for a brain tumour in 2014. Aw! This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. In 1987, he played Raoul in the first London production of The Phantom of the Opera. David Martin was diagnosed with bladder cancer about 15 years ago and credits his early referral and diagnosis for successfully beating the disease. he beamed, as he discussed his other half. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. 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