Lee wins Any Dream Will Do, will become Joseph
Lee has won Any Dream Will Do, the BBC talent show to find the star of Joseph was hosted by gay comic and television presenter, Graham Norton.
The series was judged by Joseph composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber and his esteemed panel of experts – Broadway and West End leading lady Denise Van Outen, celebrated theatre producer Bill Kenwright, Torchwood star John Barrowman and outspoken vocal coach Zoe Tyler.
Born and raised in Southend-on-Sea, 25-year-old Lee Mead has been a professional singer and actor for the past five years and has performed in various cabaret shows and on cruise ships.
He has performed professionally in musicals including The Phantom Of The Opera, Tommy and Miss Saigon, as well as dancing in a Geri Halliwell video.
His past jobs have included working at KFC and as a postman, and he believes that he would be a “strong, sensitive, cheeky and deep Joseph”.
Lee said: “It’s been the biggest journey of my life so far, and it’s all happened so quickly.”
Runner up, 19-year-old Keith Jack, currently works as a customer assistant at Tesco’s while he is studying for an HNC in Musical Theatre at a college in Edinburgh.
His first public performance was at the age of five to residents at a retirement home, and he has since gone on to win various local singing competitions.
Keith first auditioned in Glasgow and says that he has loved being involved because “I’ve got to work with the best people in the business”.
In third place was Middlesbrough boy Lewis Bradley, who turned 18 this week. He moved to London at the age of 13 to study at the Italia Conti School of Performing Arts.
He got down to the final 15 for the film version of Billy Elliot and has also been a member of a boyband.
The premium rate telephone voting raised over half a million pounds for two BBC charities, Children in Need and the Fame Academy musical theatre bursary.
The programme has been criticised for both finding a star of and publicising a theatre production by the multi-millionaire composer and Conservative peer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber at license payers’ expense.
