Benjamin James Ellis (born 22 December 1988 in

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 ...

) is an English stage and script actor who starred in the role of

Link Larkin ''Hairspray'' is a 1988 American comedy film written and directed by John Waters, starring Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono, Jerry Stiller, Leslie Ann Powers, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Michael St. Gerard, and Ruth Brown. ''Hairspray'' was ...

in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

production of the musical '' 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.

Background

James-Ellis was a student at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. 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 in the United Kingdom and broadcast on BBC One. The show searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a

revival of the

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

musical ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...

''. 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". 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 "I Made It Through the Rain" is a song that became a hit after it was recorded by American singer Barry Manilow, also included on his 1980 album, ''Barry''. The song was originally recorded in 1979 by its co-writer Gerard Kenny who composed it wi ...

". 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" from the musical '' Les Misérables''. 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'' on Channel 4. He also appeared on '' The Paul O'Grady Show'' in 2007. On 3 December 2007 Ben performed with the cast of Hairspray at the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

, held at Liverpool Empire Theatre, Liverpool, in front of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The show was screened on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

, on 9 December. On 19 February 2008 he was a '' Ready Steady Cook'' contestant on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

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 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, 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 ''Dreamboats and Petticoats'' is a jukebox musical based on popular songs from the fifties and early sixties. The musical, featuring those songs of the rock 'n' roll era, is set around the years 1957 to 1963 and was written by Laurence Marks an ...

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 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 Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

hits. Brian Conley and Darren Day also starred. In June 2011 Ben joined the touring cast of

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 and Lucy Kay, in 2017. He also accompanied McElderry on his UK tour throughout the same year, alongside Lloyd Daniels and fellow Any Dream Will Do finalist Keith Jack. Since 2019 he has been the Head of Musical Theatre at the prestigious 'Diverse Performing Arts School' in Dubai.

Credits

Recordings

In 2008 James-Ellis recorded a song with the '' Wicked'' actress

Alexia Khadime Alexia Khadime (born 9 June 1983) is a British actress and mezzo-soprano, known for her roles in musical theatre and television. Career Theatre Khadime made her first appearance on the stage in 1999, when she appeared in "Cinderella" at the Ha ...

for the CD ''Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange'', an album of 20 brand new recordings by 26

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