Ben James-Ellis
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Benjamin James Ellis (born 22 December 1988 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire) is an English stage and script actor who starred in the role of Link Larkin in the West End production of the musical ''
Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...
'' from its opening in October 2007 until July 2009. He is most famous as a contestant on the BBC reality talent show '' Any Dream Will Do''. Since 2019 he has been the Head of Musical Theatre at the prestigious 'Diverse Performing Arts School' in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
.


Background

James-Ellis was a student at the
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play '' Where the Rainbow Ends''. F ...
. He used to perform at the Scarborough YMCA Theatre. He graduated in 2017


Television career

James-Ellis was one of the finalists on ''Any Dream Will Do'' a 2007 talent show-themed television series produced by 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. ...
...
in the United Kingdom and broadcast 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, ...
. The show searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a West End revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. He was in the bottom two in the first live show on 14 April alongside Chris Crosby, with Crosby having received the lowest number of viewers votes. In the sing-off, they sang " Bridge over Troubled Water". Andrew Lloyd Webber chose to save Ellis and eliminate Crosby. He was again in the sing-off in Week three on 28 April alongside Seamus Cullen with Cullen having received the lowest number of viewers votes. In the sing-off, they sang "
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is a ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. Originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, the song became a worldwide hit for the Hollies later that year and also a hit for Neil Diamond in 1970. It h ...
". Lloyd Webber chose to save Ellis and eliminate Cullen. He was in the bottom two for a third time in week seven on 26 May alongside Craig Chalmers with Ellis having received the lowest number of viewers' votes. In the sing-off, they sang " I Made It Through The Rain". Lloyd Webber for a third time chose to save Ellis, this time eliminating Chalmers. The following week he was again in the bottom two, this time alongside Lewis Bradley with Ellis having received the lowest number of viewers votes. In the sing-off, they sang "
I Dreamed a Dream "I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the 1980 musical ''Les Misérables''. It is a solo that is sung by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron. The English lyric ...
" from the musical ''
Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
''. This time though Lloyd Webber chose to save Bradley and Ellis was finally eliminated from the show at the semi-final stage, finishing the series in fourth place. On 15 June 2007, he appeared as the "Coat of Cash Wearing Celebrity" on ''
The Friday Night Project ''The Sunday Night Project'' is a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title ''The Friday Night Project''. Originally broadcast on Friday nights, the show moved to Sunday n ...
'' on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. He also appeared on ''
The Paul O'Grady Show ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, a ...
'' in 2007. On 3 December 2007 Ben performed with the cast of Hairspray at the Royal Variety Performance, held at
Liverpool Empire Theatre The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and can ...
, Liverpool, in front of Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
. The show was screened on ITV, on 9 December. On 19 February 2008 he was a ''
Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...
'' contestant on BBC Two alongside his ''Hairspray'' co-star Leanne Jones. He won the show and donated the £100 prize to St Catherine's Hospice in his home town of Scarborough. Ben appeared as Link Larkin in The Weakest Link "West End Musicals" show on BBC1. The West End Cast of
Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...
performed on the BBC's Children in Need on 14 November 2008. They also performed on the Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV), at the Variety Club Awards in London (Channel 4), on "Tonight's the Night" with John Barrowman and "Lets Dance for Comic Relief" both on BBC1. Ben presenting the backstage reports of Hairspray: The School Musical for Sky 1, starting 31 August 2008. Ben has appeared in Bratz Design Academy on Nickelodeon and was a presenter on "Ultimate Car Tuning" on Sky TV. Ben did some presenting work on Noels HQ for Sky 1.


Film and television credits


Stage career

On 28 June 2007, Ben began performing in the touring production of ''The Music of Dirty Dancing''. He originated the role of Link Larkin in the West End production of ''Hairspray''. Previews began on 11 October 2007, with an opening night of 30 October. Alongside his ''Hairspray'' co-star
Leanne Jones Leanne Jones (born 21 March 1985) is a British actress best known for her role as Tracy Turnblad in the West End production of the musical ''Hairspray''. In 2008, she won both the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the ...
, James-Ellis performed at the 2008 ''Whatsonstage.com Year on Year Concert & Awards Show'' on 24 February 2008. He played his final performance in Hairspray on 25 July 2009. In Autumn 2009 Ben toured the UK as a lead vocalist on the Michael Ball "Past and Present 25th Anniversary Tour". A DVD was produced of a performance from the Royal Albert Hall in London. Ben starred as Peter Pan in Panto at Hull New Theatre from Thursday 10 December 2009 – Sunday 10 January 2010. Ben starred as the Cockney soldier in Brendan Behan's The Hostage at Southwark Playhouse from 3 to 20 February 2010. The play garnered many strong reviews. Ben joined the West End cast of Dreamboats and Petticoats as Norman in July 2010. After finishing his stint in Dreamboats Ben went into panto starring as the Prince in "Snow White" at the Hawth Theatre Crawley with
Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is best ...
in December 2010, they worked together again in 2011 when Craig directed Ben in The Brother Loves Travelling Salvation Show, a new musical of Neil Diamond hits.
Brian Conley Brian Paul Conley (born 7 August 1961) is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Conley has been the host of ''The Brian Conley Show'', as well as presenting the Royal Variety Performance on eight occasions. In his 40-ye ...
and
Darren Day Darren Day is an English actor, singer and television presenter, well known for his West End theatre starring roles. Early life Day's paternal grandfather was a support act to George Formby in the days of music hall. Day undertook drama clas ...
also starred. In June 2011 Ben joined the touring cast of Dreamboats and Petticoats as Norman, the Quiff was back! The cast performed across the UK, in Dublin and also in Luxembourg. Ben completed the tour in November 2012 and went on to star as Jack in "Jack and the Beanstalk" at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from 8 December 2012 to 20 January 2013. In April 2013 Ben became the lead singer on board Cunard's flagship, Queen Mary 2. He performed on the ship for four years until he returned to the UK in 2017. Ben played as The Pharaoh in the UK tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, alongside
Joe McElderry Joseph McElderry (; born 16 June 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He won the sixth series of the ITV show ''The X Factor'' in 2009. His first single " The Climb" reached number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singl ...
and Lucy Kay, in 2017. He also accompanied McElderry on his UK tour throughout the same year, alongside
Lloyd Daniels Lloyd Daniels (born September 4, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who played parts of five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life The shooting guard was one of the most sought-after recruit ...
and fellow Any Dream Will Do finalist
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 ...
. Since 2019 he has been the Head of Musical Theatre at the prestigious 'Diverse Performing Arts School' in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
.


Credits


Recordings

In 2008 James-Ellis recorded a song with the ''
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 ...
'' actress Alexia Khadime for the CD ''Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange'', an album of 20 brand new recordings by 26 West End stars, released in October 2008 on Dress Circle Records. He also recorded the song "Uptown Girl" along with Daniel Boys and Keith Jack, on the John Barrowman's album "Music Music Music". Ben featured with other members of the Hairspray cast on Michael Ball's "Past and Present" Album, singing "You Can't Stop The Beat" from the hit show.


Awards

James-Ellis won the "Best Supporting Actor in a Musical" award at the 8th annual Whatsonstage Theatregoers' Choice Awards on 24 February 2008.


References


External links


''Any Dream Will Do'' Homepage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:James-Ellis, Ben Living people British male stage actors Actors from Scarborough, North Yorkshire 1988 births