He's supposed to be taking over from Daniel Radcliffe in Equus, according to this link.

The Winner has been announced and that is that, it's well time scoring points and knocking contestants stopped!

In fact I feel for Lee the pressure he is being put under by some fanatical fans, saying things like he will replace Michael Ball - I have worked with Winners and their dreams and the high expectations have not been fulfilled every time.

Lee needs to be allowed to gain his feet in a lead role, establish himself and lets just wait and see, the same with those like Ben - Daniel - Lewis - Keith -who some are not expecting a lot from. Even the Bill Kenwrights and Andrew Lloyd-Webber's of the World make mistakes!

I can see Richard in that role well!

Tbh I'd never heard of johnbarrowman until Doctor Who.

Then he was part of that BBC show where they sang songs from the musicals. The show was so low key though.... none of the WE oomph at all. It was practically apologetic. It certainly didn't get me to wish I could see any musical in the West End and I wasn't greatly impressed with JB himself.

IMHO, JB is a household name because of Doctor Who, Torchwood and as a professional panellist, not because of anything he's known for in the West End. It's only since then and because Darius has done some MT that I've sought out clips of Barrowman and lots of other WE and Broadway leading men.

I didn't follow ADWD avidly but I did get some idea of the quality of the guys. There were no dead weights. They all made progress and all deserve to be successful in their chosen career. I just wish the BBC had had the courage to let the guys sing songs from musicals at least in the latter stages.

I'm confident Lee will be a great Joseph.

I agree - i knew of John Barrowman but only because of Dr Who. I was actually really surprised to find out he was in MT. But since then i've downloaded some of his albums and I only wish i'd known before!

Michael Ball i think is the one person everybody can associate with MT - he's the male version of sarah brightman.

And i think if Lee is good and does some high profile shows after Joseph then he will definitely be able to rival him! (as will Ben one day too I'm sure!)

I always remember John barrowman presenting the movie game when I was a kid. I'm not certain but think he may have sung on sat superstore or the like and so I associate him with MT, never saw him in a show though.

Thinking about it after michael Ball I'm sure people think of Shane Richie and Jason Donovan just because they were so closely linked to their shows.

What a great memory! I first saw Michael Ball in Aspects of Love in London. I too will never forget hearing his voice for the first time - my goosebumps had goosebumps! To this day, his is the most glorious voice I have ever heard in a theatre.

His voice is far superior than what you hear when he's on TV by the way - the TV somehow "contains" it and you don't get the full power.

By the way, I don't mean to say that there are no other great MT stars EXCEPT Michael Ball and John Barrowman. As ALW himself said, he knows these are the two biggest draws and have been for many years.

However, Michael Crawford is a big draw too and so would Jason Donovan or Donny Osmond be too.

According to DS, he's in an upcoming episode of Blue Murder.

Marie - what a lovely expression! I agree with your post, I have never heard a better male theatre voice. Sadly, I have never heard him in one of his theatre roles but I went to several very early concerts he gave in theatre venues. The selection of songs he sang were virtually all MT so I have heard 'Love Changes Everything' 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables' etc and it was an absolute joy to listen to. Actually the latter is the only MT song I have ever heard live that has brought tears to my eyes - and that was MB singing at a concert, not as part of Les Mis. Quite astonishing performance.

On a related note I would be fascinated to hear all of the Joseph finalists on stage as TV really can't do their voices justice. Those who have been lucky enough to attend the live shows seem to have found this too. Am off to see Joseph in July and am very much looking forward to hearing Lee's voice live.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with the praise for Michael Crawford. He was beyond compare in Phantom...yet as was said off stage he is very quiet and unassuming.

I think MT stars are often quite content not to be hounded by the attention that TV exposure brings so they remain feted in the relatively confined world of MT fans. After all, how many folk really could have told you who JB was until he starred in Dr Who?! Michael Ball and Elaine Paige are exceptions to the rule, I guess.

Lee WILL almost certainly rival JB and MB in the West End MT stardom world but it sounds to me as if he's quite content for it to invade his private life no further.

Oddly the one I think COULD shine in other TV spheres is Daniel Boys....ok, he is not outrageous, wild, 'bad' but it is he very courteousness, pleasantness and inner calmness that lends his presence a real strength and drawing power. He also has quite a charming sense of humour and I do not get the feeling he is so 'reserved' as, say, Lee off stage. As for West End roles SURELY he must be in line for big
things!!

I think Seamus should have been Pharoh, myself. He is just so GOOD at being BAD!!

Why not a musical version of Pirates of the Caribbean with Seamus as Captain Jack Sparrow?!!

There are several great MT artists. Philip Quast, Colm Wilkinson to name but two. Dave Willetts is another who springs to mind.

But there are very few so young as Lee. I think it is necessary to encourage more singers into MT. Andrew Darbyshire who auditioned for Pop Idol and got into the last 50 has played Joseph very well.

Was he in a touring production a few years ago? I remember when I saw it that whoever played Joseph had been in pop idol but I couldn't remember him! Actually all I remember of him from joseph was that he had blond hair and sang out of tune

As an avid musical theatre fan, I can't understand anyone mentioning Michael Ball and John Barrowman in the same sentence. That is almost equivalent to sacrilege.

As for Lee Mead being a rival to either of them, I've read funnier jokes out of Christmas crackers.

I still think, myself, that the one incomparable MT star is Michael Crawfurd. I expect Lee could rival JB but will take longer to reach MB's accomplishment.

I LOVE Philip Quast. Seriously, I've been to see about three shows just because of him (and own a couple of really random cds for the same reason). He has one of the most glorious MT baritones I've EVER heard.

In the Australian opera version of pirates of penzance the pirate king was made to look like Jack sparra.

I thought the gospel chior bloke from the auditions would have been a great pharoh.

Oh, and I love Philip Quast, he's fantastic. Glorious voice - and a great straight actor as well. And Colm Wilkinson and has anyone said Clarke Peters yet? He's fantastic. Oh, I completely agree that there are many wonderful MT performers as well as MB and JB - I thought the thread began because ALW said those two were the only two Brit MT men who could sell tickets on their names, and that now Lee would be a third. That's why I was saying about Dr Who, etc, because I don't think their 'bums on seats' power is all to do with their MT performances, it's to do with TV. Sorry if I've missed the point. (Obviously those of you who have mentioned Michael Crawford disprove that, but there aren't that many others.) And that is what this show has done for Lee - it's made him famous, really properly famous, and lots of people will go to see a show now just because he is in it.