Ben Ellis - The Story So Far Ben was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in December 1988. His love of performing has led him to appear in many shows in the theatres in his hometown, including his own 'An Audience With Ben Ellis' at age sixteen. He moved to London to attend the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, winning a scholarship to study musical theatre. In 2007 he auditioned for the television shows 'Grease Is The Word' and 'Any Dream Will Do', progressing through successfully in both. He chose to pursue his dreams (pardon the pun) by forging ahead with the competition to become the new leading man in the part of Joseph in the West End. Succeeding in reaching the last 12 of the competition, with particular backing and recognition from TV and stage favourite John Barrowman, Ben went on to perform in the weekly live shows on BBC1 each week, amassing a legion of devoted fans (us!!) as he blossomed into a huge star on our screens every Saturday night, winning our hearts with his enthusiasm, perseverance, charisma, not to mention some great dancing, making it through to the semi-final of the show. Since the show, Ben hosted his own 'homecoming' extravaganza in Scarborough at the Spa, where fans flocked to see both him and Chris Barton from Any Dream Will Do as they relived many favourite performances from the television series. Ben then led a production of concerts showcasing The Music Of Dirty Dancing, with performances in London and Slovenia, building his performance repertoire and musical theatre experience, and entertaining the crowds. In July 2007 it was announced that Ben has deservedly secured his first West End stage role, playing the key part of Link Larkin in the new production of 'Hairspray', where he will work alongside Michael Ball and Mel Smith. This is an amazing opportunity for Ben to showcase his singing, dancing and acting talents to a new and wider audience as well as his current fans - we heard great things about the rehearsals and many have been thrilled by his performance in the previews which began on October 11th 2007. (see the News section for more information). Congratulations to Ben for his award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical at the What's On Stage Theatregoers' Choice Awards 2008, for his role as Link Larkin in 'Hairspray', the first of many we bet. The future can only continue to be bright and successful for such a talented guy as our Ben and we wish him all the luck in the world and look forward to following him throughout his career!