did michael ball ever have an affair?

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  • birdonawirebirdonawire Posts: 1,028
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    Karen59 wrote: »
    I am a professional performer in musical theatre and have been in productions with Michael Ball and know him reasonably well. I make no comment on his private life, that is entirely his own affair. But you need to spend about 60 seconds in the company of Mike and Cathy to see that they are clearly, and genuinely, devoted to each other and make each other very happy. He is a wonderful step-father and step-grandfather and his family all adore him. There is nothing ‘artificial’ about his home life.

    On a professional level, here I do feel moved to defend him. He is a superb company leader and is always generous with his time and advice. Indeed the younger members of the company tend to follow him around like besotted sheep. I have never heard a ‘me me me’ type phrase in all the years I’ve known him, well not one meant seriously anyway. He is wonderfully tactile but never in a sleazy way and he always shows complete respect for the women in the company. He does enjoy kissing women and he does have a wicked sense of humour.

    The one comment that I must take issue with is “I believe he's a bit of a diva too - he refuses to speak for hours before concerts to 'preserve his voice', and makes dismissive hand gestures if anyone tries to communicate verbally with him.”
    This is complete and utter nonsense. In 2009 he invited cameras backstage to film the buildup to his Royal Albert Hall concert, the minutes, and indeed seconds, before going on. He was his usual funny and supportive self. In fact he seeks out people to talk to in the moments before performing on any stage as a counter to nerves. He is the least precious person vocally I know, and believe me I know some who would easily fit the description in quotation marks.

    It is very easy to fire barbs at people you don’t know, we are all guilty of it. But this one doesn’t deserve it. If I needed to depend on a colleague for help during a performance, a kind word or an understanding wink or someone to fill in a forgotten line, I would choose Michael Ball over any other person in musical theatre. He is kindness and talent and grace and patience personified.


    Your post says everything that I feel about Michael Ball.

    I am not the type of person that idolises singers/actors etc. and although there are the ones that I like and admire their work, there is usually some side of their personality that I perhaps am not too keen on. Michael Ball on the other hand has always surprised me in that I never see any side to him that is perhaps questionable, he always presents himself as thoroughly nice, kind and caring, with a good, but not goody goody sense of humour, and his affection tactile ways have never set off my sleaze radar.
    I admire that he is devoted to his family and does not court the press, I am sure he would be a great friend to have, a very genuine nice, fun guy.
  • SecretLifeoBeesSecretLifeoBees Posts: 50,639
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    I remember when I was at uni there were constant rumours about how he had had an affair with one of our lecturers when he worked in professional theatre :D Whether these rumours were true or not is another matter.....
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 512
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    Karen59 wrote: »
    I am a professional performer in musical theatre and have been in productions with Michael Ball and know him reasonably well. I make no comment on his private life, that is entirely his own affair. But you need to spend about 60 seconds in the company of Mike and Cathy to see that they are clearly, and genuinely, devoted to each other and make each other very happy. He is a wonderful step-father and step-grandfather and his family all adore him. There is nothing ‘artificial’ about his home life.

    On a professional level, here I do feel moved to defend him. He is a superb company leader and is always generous with his time and advice. Indeed the younger members of the company tend to follow him around like besotted sheep. I have never heard a ‘me me me’ type phrase in all the years I’ve known him, well not one meant seriously anyway. He is wonderfully tactile but never in a sleazy way and he always shows complete respect for the women in the company. He does enjoy kissing women and he does have a wicked sense of humour.

    The one comment that I must take issue with is “I believe he's a bit of a diva too - he refuses to speak for hours before concerts to 'preserve his voice', and makes dismissive hand gestures if anyone tries to communicate verbally with him.”
    This is complete and utter nonsense. In 2009 he invited cameras backstage to film the buildup to his Royal Albert Hall concert, the minutes, and indeed seconds, before going on. He was his usual funny and supportive self. In fact he seeks out people to talk to in the moments before performing on any stage as a counter to nerves. He is the least precious person vocally I know, and believe me I know some who would easily fit the description in quotation marks.

    It is very easy to fire barbs at people you don’t know, we are all guilty of it. But this one doesn’t deserve it. If I needed to depend on a colleague for help during a performance, a kind word or an understanding wink or someone to fill in a forgotten line, I would choose Michael Ball over any other person in musical theatre. He is kindness and talent and grace and patience personified.

    Well said! I was getting very upset reading the rest of this thread and am glad someone who knows has put things straight. I have friends who know the lovely Michael and they have always said what a true gentleman he is, how lovely, generous and thoughtful he is (I am still waiting for my introduction! hint hint!)
  • SloopySloopy Posts: 65,209
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    halecomet wrote: »
    i heard rumors that michael and prince edward had a gay affair:eek::eek:

    To be fair the media has always been very mischievous in terms of the rumours about Prince Eddie's sexuality over the years!!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 849
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    Karen59 wrote: »
    I am a professional performer in musical theatre and have been in productions with Michael Ball and know him reasonably well. I make no comment on his private life, that is entirely his own affair. But you need to spend about 60 seconds in the company of Mike and Cathy to see that they are clearly, and genuinely, devoted to each other and make each other very happy. He is a wonderful step-father and step-grandfather and his family all adore him. There is nothing ‘artificial’ about his home life.

    On a professional level, here I do feel moved to defend him. He is a superb company leader and is always generous with his time and advice. Indeed the younger members of the company tend to follow him around like besotted sheep. I have never heard a ‘me me me’ type phrase in all the years I’ve known him, well not one meant seriously anyway. He is wonderfully tactile but never in a sleazy way and he always shows complete respect for the women in the company. He does enjoy kissing women and he does have a wicked sense of humour.

    The one comment that I must take issue with is “I believe he's a bit of a diva too - he refuses to speak for hours before concerts to 'preserve his voice', and makes dismissive hand gestures if anyone tries to communicate verbally with him.”
    This is complete and utter nonsense. In 2009 he invited cameras backstage to film the buildup to his Royal Albert Hall concert, the minutes, and indeed seconds, before going on. He was his usual funny and supportive self. In fact he seeks out people to talk to in the moments before performing on any stage as a counter to nerves. He is the least precious person vocally I know, and believe me I know some who would easily fit the description in quotation marks.

    It is very easy to fire barbs at people you don’t know, we are all guilty of it. But this one doesn’t deserve it. If I needed to depend on a colleague for help during a performance, a kind word or an understanding wink or someone to fill in a forgotten line, I would choose Michael Ball over any other person in musical theatre. He is kindness and talent and grace and patience personified.

    As I was the one who made that comment I ought to reveal where I got this info from. A radio DJ (whose Mum is a big fan of Michaels) had backstage access to one of his shows and was desperate to get a photograph and autograph for his Mum back in Ireland. He was that shocked and disappointed with Michaels diva-ish behaviour and attitude, he spent 30 mins moaning about it on his show. This is going back to around 2001/2002, so maybe this was before you worked with him?

    I wouldn't 'fire out barbs' for no good reason. I see no reason why this DJ, (who worked on Radio City in Liverpool) would make something like that up, especially as he'd been going on about how much he was looking forward to meeting him.

    As for the 'sleazy' comment I made, that is my personal opinion based on what I have seen of him on the TV, which I'm perfectly entitled to.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 5
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    Fair enough John. I've worked with Michael in theatres and never on tour, for over 15 years. But I do know the musicians who have toured with him for years and if that behaviour was the norm, I would know, and so would everyone else in the industry.

    He has toured since around 1992 I believe, every second year and about 20 gigs per tour so that is well over 100 concerts and he is not going to behave perfectly all the time, no one does. Every performer has times when their behaviour is less than perfect and unfortunately there is sometimes someone waiting to meet them and that experience is less than ideal and it colours their attitude and they let people know.

    If the concert is late in a tour then sometimes the performer can have vocal issues and keep talking to a minimum.
    In Michael's case he has suffered from back injuries as the result of a parachuting accident when he was 18 and sometimes he is in agony, merely walking is agony, let alone dancing and acting and singing. I have never seen his pain affect his attitude.

    Maybe it was a bad day and that's a shame for the DJ and his Mum. Over the years I have seen hundreds and hundreds of fans at the stage doors, and they get their photos and their autographs and more often than not, a chat.

    All I can say from my personal experience and opinion that his behaviour is usually completely un-diva like and he is, genuinely, a really nice guy.
  • Yorkie47Yorkie47 Posts: 1,487
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    Thanks for your posts Karen.

    I've been a fan since the early 90s and of course no human being is nice ALL the time. However, I have hardly ever heard a bad word said about Michael Ball. Obviously, I'm not in the business but fans talk at stage doors!

    I did get briefly talking once to one of his co-stars (Maria Friedman, very nice woman). This was during the run of "Woman in White". During our 5 minute chat it was quite obvious that Maria adored Michael. She spoke of him in glowing terms, saying what great fun he was. In fact she actually said "I love him to bits".

    Of course I've heard the gay rumours over the years too but I couldn't care less whether he's gay or not. He's not saying and he's entitled to keep his private life private.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 263
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    JohnHughes wrote: »
    A radio DJ (whose Mum is a big fan of Michaels) had backstage access to one of his shows and was desperate to get a photograph and autograph for his Mum back in Ireland. He was that shocked and disappointed with Michaels diva-ish behaviour and attitude, he spent 30 mins moaning about it on his show. This is going back to around 2001/2002, so maybe this was before you worked with him?

    As for the 'sleazy' comment I made, that is my personal opinion based on what I have seen of him on the TV, which I'm perfectly entitled to.

    There could've been lots of reasons why this performer wasn't able to do this on this particular ocassion, perhaps the request never reached him in the first place. Perhaps he was resting his voice due to being unwell .If I remember rightly both the 2000 and 2003 tours had concerts rearranged because of this. Shame it happened to the DJ but anyone can have a bad day. I'm sure he has let someone down himself, somewhere along the way too. :)

    As for sleazy sounds more like Mr Barrowman to me, but that's opinions for you lol!!!! :):)
  • ppaupyppaupy Posts: 2,729
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    sueh21 wrote: »
    Yes but that clue made no sense! I was trying to think who King Edward was:confused:

    Well excuse me!! i thought it was a very good clue...i didnt think we were allowed to name names about things like this.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,728
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    He alledgely had an affair with someone who was 'just good freinds' in the 1980s;)

    Older viewers may know what exactly I am talking about.;)

    I knew this many years ago (like late 80s) because I had a freind who worked in theartre and it seemed to be common knowledge within certain circles.
  • dorydaryldorydaryl Posts: 15,927
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    Evie-Grace wrote: »
    JB or MB.......would be interested to know which musical?

    MB, although it is from a friend of a friend, so I shouldn't judge. He seems an ok bloke...warm, funny and friendly enough.I can't really say too much about the musical as it could give the 'friend's friend' away (they're pretty well known in their own right)...recent will probably be a big enough clue, though.

    As for JB, I've heard he's absolutely lovely and very supportive of new performers....just a bit exhausting with his exuberant (and exhibitionist!) personality. Seen him live and loved him, though.
  • dorydaryldorydaryl Posts: 15,927
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    Karen59 wrote: »
    I am a professional performer in musical theatre and have been in productions with Michael Ball and know him reasonably well. I make no comment on his private life, that is entirely his own affair. But you need to spend about 60 seconds in the company of Mike and Cathy to see that they are clearly, and genuinely, devoted to each other and make each other very happy. He is a wonderful step-father and step-grandfather and his family all adore him. There is nothing ‘artificial’ about his home life.

    On a professional level, here I do feel moved to defend him. He is a superb company leader and is always generous with his time and advice. Indeed the younger members of the company tend to follow him around like besotted sheep. I have never heard a ‘me me me’ type phrase in all the years I’ve known him, well not one meant seriously anyway. He is wonderfully tactile but never in a sleazy way and he always shows complete respect for the women in the company. He does enjoy kissing women and he does have a wicked sense of humour.

    The one comment that I must take issue with is “I believe he's a bit of a diva too - he refuses to speak for hours before concerts to 'preserve his voice', and makes dismissive hand gestures if anyone tries to communicate verbally with him.”
    This is complete and utter nonsense. In 2009 he invited cameras backstage to film the buildup to his Royal Albert Hall concert, the minutes, and indeed seconds, before going on. He was his usual funny and supportive self. In fact he seeks out people to talk to in the moments before performing on any stage as a counter to nerves. He is the least precious person vocally I know, and believe me I know some who would easily fit the description in quotation marks.

    It is very easy to fire barbs at people you don’t know, we are all guilty of it. But this one doesn’t deserve it. If I needed to depend on a colleague for help during a performance, a kind word or an understanding wink or someone to fill in a forgotten line, I would choose Michael Ball over any other person in musical theatre. He is kindness and talent and grace and patience personified.

    That's a really nice insight from someone who is in the know, Karen. Always good to get a more rounded picture of someone in the public eye.
  • tania4stevetania4steve Posts: 544
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    leosw4 wrote: »
    He alledgely had an affair with someone who was 'just good freinds' in the 1980s;)

    Older viewers may know what exactly I am talking about.;)

    I knew this many years ago (like late 80s) because I had a freind who worked in theartre and it seemed to be common knowledge within certain circles.

    But was this with the male or female star of the show?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 5
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    You know, I remember parties that used to start on Fridays and finish on Tuesdays! People in the theatre world have always known how to party and Michael is no exception to that.

    But do we really want to be judged forever by what we did 20plus years ago? Not me, and I'm sure not many of you.
    Michael's late teen and first decade of manhood were considerably harder than just about anyone else I know. He fought physical and mental anguish and he came through and most people who know the full story use one word to describe it, "courage". What, or who, he did in the old days is history.

    All I can say is that people who know him, people who know people who know him, people who know people who know people who know him...mostly say the same thing. He's one of the good guys.

    Plus, and it's a BIG plus for me, he is using his experience, his clout and his money to produce shows, to faciliate more musicals coming to the West End. And that means jobs, lots of jobs. All power to you Mr Ball :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 849
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    Karen59 wrote: »
    Fair enough John. I've worked with Michael in theatres and never on tour, for over 15 years. But I do know the musicians who have toured with him for years and if that behaviour was the norm, I would know, and so would everyone else in the industry.

    He has toured since around 1992 I believe, every second year and about 20 gigs per tour so that is well over 100 concerts and he is not going to behave perfectly all the time, no one does. Every performer has times when their behaviour is less than perfect and unfortunately there is sometimes someone waiting to meet them and that experience is less than ideal and it colours their attitude and they let people know.

    If the concert is late in a tour then sometimes the performer can have vocal issues and keep talking to a minimum.
    In Michael's case he has suffered from back injuries as the result of a parachuting accident when he was 18 and sometimes he is in agony, merely walking is agony, let alone dancing and acting and singing. I have never seen his pain affect his attitude.

    Maybe it was a bad day and that's a shame for the DJ and his Mum. Over the years I have seen hundreds and hundreds of fans at the stage doors, and they get their photos and their autographs and more often than not, a chat.

    All I can say from my personal experience and opinion that his behaviour is usually completely un-diva like and he is, genuinely, a really nice guy.

    Ah don't worry about it, I gave in to the gossip monster and posted something someone else had said about him. If I met him in person I'd probably find him a charming lovely bloke too.

    I said bordering on sleazy in my first post, but maybe that just means I am more reserved as a person, and so find what I percieve as Michaels excessive touchy feely stuff a bit much - I know I would feel uncomfortable doing that with my female work colleagues, but I suppose the office is a bit different than the theatre! :)

    I do take the point of the other FM too, that maybe his voice was bad on that particular occasion. Fair point.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 5
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    Theatre is very touchy-feely, when you know the guys well you can call them "West End Wendys" and they don't take offence. They are emotional, they use their hands expressively when they talk, they cry at movies, they touch you when they talk to you or sing with you.

    Case in point. Placido Domingo. When he talks to a woman he quite often takes your hands in his and looks right into your eyes. Sometimes he withdraws a hand and touches your arm or even strokes your cheek. If he wants to make a point he will cup your face in his hands. He kisses on each cheek...men outside the theatre may say that is sleaze of the first degree. It is certainly first class flirting!! All the women who have experienced the "Domingo charm" will tell you it is the moment that they knew what 'weak knees' really felt like and a moment that will remain with them until they die...such is the theatre!
  • Yorkie47Yorkie47 Posts: 1,487
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    But was this with the male or female star of the show?

    The male - I've heard that one many times too.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,587
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    Yorkie47 wrote: »
    The male - I've heard that one many times too.

    :eek: Really - I never thought he was of that persuasion. Love him, I saw him in Pirates of Penzance donkey's years ago. He was superb. I had a massive crush on him after seeing that.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8
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    Eviesmum wrote: »
    :eek: Really - I never thought he was of that persuasion.

    Me neither. He's been married twice and has 6 children!
  • Nuts In MayNuts In May Posts: 1,616
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    Lancy wrote: »
    Me neither. He's been married twice and has 6 children!

    Means nothing.

    Plenty of men of *ahem* 'that' persuasion have been married with kids. Anyway, this is all pure speculation and unfounded rumour.

    Tbh, I'm surprised the padlock hasn't descended on here long ago.
  • ppaupyppaupy Posts: 2,729
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    Means nothing.

    Plenty of men of *ahem* 'that' persuasion have been married with kids. Anyway, this is all pure speculation and unfounded rumour.

    Tbh, I'm surprised the padlock hasn't descended on here long ago.

    Being married with children really doesnt mean anything..mu partner has 3 adult children and was married for 25 years...gay as a goose now.

    As for the one now in question i heard many rumours of the same way way back..of him being with a co-star when they were in Godspell together..other man in question is David...insert county of your choice...
  • Yorkie47Yorkie47 Posts: 1,487
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    Eviesmum wrote: »
    :eek: Really - I never thought he was of that persuasion. Love him, I saw him in Pirates of Penzance donkey's years ago. He was superb. I had a massive crush on him after seeing that.

    I've seen him in everything except Pirates of Penzance! I love him too and, whatever persuasion he happens to be, superb he most certainly is. :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 78
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    michael seems to love lesley garrett because he did a lot of duets with her they seem very close:confused:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 263
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    ppaupy wrote: »

    As for the one now in question i heard many rumours of the same way way back..of him being with a co-star when they were in Godspell together..other man in question is David...insert county of your choice...

    Ehmmm If it's the *county* I'm thinking of, they were not in the same productions of Godspell.
  • EurostarEurostar Posts: 78,519
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    Weren't there rumours linking Michael with Irish singer Brian Kennedy a few years back? Apparently they took a few holidays together and the word on the grapevine suggested they were an item.
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