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Lee Stephen Mead (born 14 July 1981) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, television actor and occasional singer, best known for winning the title role in the 2007 West End revival of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' through the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

TV casting show '' Any Dream Will Do''. As well as subsequent West End roles in ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

, Legally Blonde: The Musical'' and The West End Men, Mead has pursued a music career, releasing four solo albums and undertaking concert tours in the UK and Japan. In 2014, he joined the cast of the BBC One drama ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', playing the role of Ben 'Lofty' Chiltern, while continuing to tour the UK with his band between filming commitments. He returned to the stage in May 2016 as Caractacus Potts in the UK Tour of '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang''. In 2017, he returned to the role of Lofty, but in Casualty's sister series, the BBC One drama ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

''. On 9 November 2019 Lee sang Morning Has Broken at the Annual

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

celebration service at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

Early career

After studying at performing arts college, Mead gained his first professional stage experience in cabaret as a cruise ship singer on the Portsmouth to Bilbao ferry and then in a summer season at Bridlington Spa Theatre. He moved into

in 2004, playing both Levi and the Pharaoh in the UK touring production of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. Following Joseph, Mead performed in the UK tours of ''

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

'' (ensemble and first cover Tommy) and ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

'' (ensemble and first cover Chris) before joining the West End production of ''

Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

'' as an ensemble player and understudy for the role of Raoul.

Any Dream Will Do/Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

While performing in ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

'', Mead auditioned for the

...
series '' Any Dream Will Do'', hoping to win a six-month contract playing

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

in the 2007 West End revival of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. From 10,000 initial auditionees, Mead was selected as one of the final 12 potential 'Josephs' who performed live on TV every Saturday night to win the public's vote. Immediately after he won the final, a single featuring Mead, with fellow ''Any Dream Will Do'' finalists Lewis Bradley and

Keith Jack Keith Jack (born 2 March 1988) is a British actor and singer. He was the runner-up on the BBC reality talent show ''Any Dream Will Do (TV series), Any Dream Will Do'', which offered the chance to be the next West End theatre, West End Joseph fo ...

, was released in aid of the

...
's annual Children In Need charity appeal. The single, featuring '' Any Dream Will Do'' (performed by Mead) and ''

Close Every Door "Close Every Door" is a song from the musical '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is the penultimate song of the first act of the musical, sung by Joseph while imprisoned for his supposed re ...

'' (performed by all three finalists) reached number 2 in the official UK singles chart. ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat'' opened in the West End on 17 July 2007 to generally good reviews: "Lee Mead... turns out to be both talented and enthusiastic... what distinguishes him is an attractive singing voice and, coming from beneath hair that owes more to Uncle Esau than father Jacob, lots of affable charisma... last night's audience seemed enchanted" wrote

Benedict Nightingale William Benedict Herbert Nightingale (born 14 May 1939) is a British journalist, formerly a regular theatre critic for ''The Times'' newspaper. He was educated at Charterhouse and Magdalene College, Cambridge. His first published theatre review ...

in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. "Mead is in excellent form vocally" wrote

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

's Lisa Martland. His performance of ''Close Every Door'', "encapsulating both tenderness and defiance", was a highlight for her. After 600 performances in the role, Mead played Joseph for the last time on 10 January 2009.

Post-Joseph career

Following his run as Joseph in the West End, Mead took a short course at the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

before taking on his first major play in a UK tour of '' Lord Arthur Savile's Crime''. The play, which was adapted by

Trevor Baxter Trevor Baxter (18 November 1932 – 16 July 2017) was a British actor and playwright. He was educated at Dulwich College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Early years A postal worker's son, Baxter was born in Lewisham, London, England, an ...

in the style of a tongue-in-cheek Victorian melodrama from a short story by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, opened at the

Theatre Royal Windsor The Theatre Royal is an Edwardian theatre on Thames Street in Windsor in Berkshire. The present building is the second theatre to stand on this site and opened on 13 December 1910. Built for Sir Wiliam Shipley and Captain Reginald Shipley, it was ...

on 12 January 2010 and finished at the

Theatre Royal Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audie ...

on 24 April 2010. Mead led the cast playing the title role alongside established performers including

Gary Wilmot Harold Owen "Gary" Wilmot, MBE (born 8 May 1954) is a British singer, actor, comedian, presenter, writer and director who rose to fame as a contestant on ''New Faces''. As a television presenter, he is best known as the host of '' You and Me'' ...

Kate O'Mara Kate O'Mara (born Francesca Meredith Carroll;Michael CoveneObituary: Kate O'Mara ''The Guardian'', 30 March 2014 10 August 1939 – 30 March 2014) was an English film, stage and television actress, and writer. O'Mara made her stage debut in a ...

, David Ross and

Derren Nesbitt Derren Nesbitt (born Derren Michael Horwitz; 19 June 1935) is a British actor. Nesbitt's film career began in the late 1950s, and he also appeared in many television series in the late 1960s into the 1970s. He is known for his role as Major von ...

. Mead went on to appear in the role of

Fiyero ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in ''The Wicked Years'' series, and was followed by ''Son of a ...

in the London production of

, from 10 May 2010 to 5 February 2011 opposite

Rachel Tucker Rachel Kelly Tucker (born 29 May 1981) is a Northern Irish West End and Broadway actress, best known for her portrayal of Elphaba in the hit musical '' Wicked''. She most recently starred in Come from Away on Broadway, having originated the role ...

as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch Of the West and

Louise Dearman Louise Dearman (born 13 March 1979) is a British actress and singer, perhaps best known for playing Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of the musical '' Wicked.'' Notably, she is the only actress to have played both witches in any prod ...

as Galinda, the Good Witch. Mead was nominated for the ''Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Takeover in a Role'' for this role. Mead then took over the role of Emmett in ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his List of directorial debuts, feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (writer), Kirsten Smith from ...

'' in the West End from 20 June to 8 October 2011. He made his television acting debut in August 2011, guest starring in an episode of ''

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

as newly employed teaching assistant Harry Timms He also appeared in the second series of the science fiction drama, Bedlam, in the episode entitled "Jude" playing Scott, the brother of the title character, on Sky Living in June 2012. In December 2012, he starred in his first pantomime as the title character "Jack" in Jack and the Beanstalk at the

Mayflower Theatre Mayflower Theatre (formerly the Gaumont Theatre and originally The Empire Theatre) is a Grade II listed theatre in the city centre of Southampton, England, with a capacity of 2,300. It features West End theatre shows when they tour the United Ki ...

, Southampton alongside Julian Clary and Nigel Havers. Mead returned to the West End in May 2013, starring in The West End Men in concert at the Vaudeville Theatre alongside Matt Willis, Glenn Carter, Stephen Rahman-Hughes and David Thaxton. In December 2013, he starred in his second pantomime as "Robin" in ''Robin Hood'' at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth. On 1 March 2014, he made his first appearance as

Ben "Lofty" Chiltern Ben "Lofty" Chiltern is a fictional character from the BBC medical dramas '' Casualty'' and ''Holby City'', played by actor Lee Mead. He first appeared in ''Casualty'' twenty-eighth series episode "The Last Chance Saloon", broadcast on 1 March ...

in the BBC drama series ''

''. Mead was nominated as ''Favourite Newcomer'' in the 2014 TV Times Awards and shortlisted as ''Newcomer'' in the ''2015 National Television Awards'' for this role. Alongside ''Casualty'', Mead is continuing to tour the UK with his band, starred in his third pantomime as "Prince Charming" in ''Cinderella'' at the New Theatre, Cardiff in December 2014 and stars in his fourth as "Aladdin" in ''Aladdin'' at the

Hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used i ...

, Birmingham in December 2015. In 2016, Mead left ''Casualty'' to join the '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' UK Tour as "Caractacus Potts" and ended the year playing "Prince Charming" in ''Cinderella'' at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

. In 2017 he joined the cast of ''

'', reprising his ''Casualty'' role. He remained as a series regular until his final episode aired on 17 December 2019. In 2019, he made a guest appearance as himself in the second series of the BBC sitcom ''

Motherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

''.

Filmography

Film & Television Credits

Theatre Credits

Concerts

UK and Ireland

Mead undertook his first solo concert in his home town of

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

in May 2010 and continued to tour the UK and Ireland during 2010 and 2011 with his own band. A second tour, ''The Love Tour'', followed in February 2012 to coincide with the release of his third album, ''Love Songs''. In the summer of 2012, Mead joined forces with Stephen Rahman-Hughes and Matt Rawle to tour as th
West End Men
supported by special guest, Kerry Ellis. A further short tour with the West End Men followed in November 2012 with Ramin Karimloo replacing Matt Rawle in the line-up. Mead also starred in a month-long run of the West End Men from May to June 2013 at the Vaudeville Theatre in London. Mead completed further UK solo tours in the autumn of 2013 and in 2014 then in 2015, announced a new collaboration with Stephen Rahman-Hughes to form duo, Steve and Lee, their show ''Both Sides Now'' debuted in October of that year. Mead's new ''Some Enchanted Evening'' tour kicked off in July 2015, followed by the launch of his new album of the same name in February 2016, which is marked by a series of intimate London gigs with further UK-wide tour dates announced for March and October 2016. In November 2016, he joined other West End stars for two ''Broadway in Concert'' dates and a further ''Both Sides Now'' show with Stephen Rahman-Hughes. Mead has announced a monthly ''Up Front and Centre'' residency at London's Pheasantry throughout 2017, the first of its kind for the Chelsea cabaret venue.

Japan

Mead completed his first international concert tour of Japan in December 2011.

Guest appearances

Mead has appeared as a guest artist at a range of concerts and events.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards

Personal life

Mead was born in

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

to Joan (née Horning) and Stephen Mead. He has a younger brother, Casey Michael Mead, who is four years his junior. In November 2007, Mead began dating '' Any Dream Will Do'' judge Denise van Outen. The couple married on 25 April 2009 and their daughter was born on 1 May 2010. In July 2013, the couple released a joint statement stating that they had separated.

Charity

Mead is the patron and active supporter of Equal People Performing Arts, a charity based in

Rayleigh, Essex Rayleigh is a market town and civil parish in Essex, England; it is located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, east of central London. It had a population of 32,150 at the census in 2011. Toponymy The name ''Rayleigh'' is Old English in ...

that makes the performing arts available to all, and brings together disabled and non-disabled children and young adults to socialise and perform. He also was ambassador of Vodafone's 2008 Cut It Out Campaign in 2008 which aimed to reduce bullying. The campaign worked alongside the West End stage production of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. Children were invited to design their own 'dreamcoat' and the winning entries were then worn on stage by Mead during Anti-Bullying week.

References

External links

Official websiteLee Mead Appreciation Society (unofficial fan website)Lee Mead Timeline (unofficial fan website and news archive)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mead, Lee 1981 births English male musical theatre actors Fascination Records artists Living people People from Southend-on-Sea Reality casting show winners