Michael Ball plans to meet superfan for her 100th birthday
West End superstar Michael Ball has vowed to meet a huge fan for her 100th birthday.
Michael Ball is planning to meet a superfan on her 100th birthday.
The 60-year-old actor - who is known for having starred in West End productions of 'Les Miserables' and 'The Phantom of the Opera' and is due to star in an upcoming production of 'Aspects of Love' - was made aware of 99-year-old Manchester care home resident Dorothy Walsh and was so amazed that he vowed to visit her on her centenary.
Speaking on UKTV show 'Lorraine', he said: "Dorothy, why aren't you here, my lovely?! Come and see us in 'Aspects'. I'm sending you the biggest hug. I will come and see you on your 100th birthday, it's a date! God bless her. "
Meanwhile, the stage legend - who is also known as part of the singing duo Ball and Boe along with fellow West End star Alfie Boe - has now penned theatrical novel' Empire' based on his early experiences in his career and explained that it is partly inspired by the mental health struggles he faced at the time which "no one" talked about back then.
He said: "You need to know who your characters are and, like what happens in rehearsal, things can change. As long as I know the big moments that we're heading for and take the audience on a journey.
"I adore theatre, I really, really do. People who work in the theatre are my tribe.
"The book is set in 1922, which was a pivotal changing moment in theatre. It's when the influence from America was coming over with the musicals, it's post-First World War. People needed entertainment.
"There was a change in the role for women, the Suffragette movement, it's populated with a lot of powerful women, of which there are many in theatre. And it's all set in a theatre which I just love!
"I remember the first time walking into a theatre as a punter and just looking at this beauty and magic around me, the auditorium, the foyer, and then you get backstage and see how different it is. But that's the exciting part of it and all those characters who make up the family that is a company.
"I wanted to have this character Billy who had been through what I was going through when I did 'Les Mis', the panic attacks, the breakdowns, losing your nerve and finding the techniques to get through it. But when it happened to me in 1985, no-one was talking about this stuff."
