Lee Mead shot to fame when he won BBC TV casting show Any Dream Will Do, a contest to find Andrew Lloyd Webber a new leading man for his 2007 West End revival of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Since then, Lee’s made steady progress with his career, appearing in numerous other West End winners as well as bagging himself a regular role in long-running TV series Casualty.

Here, he talks to What’s On about his new touring show, Some Enchanted Evening, and his return to the Midlands to star in Birmingham Hippodrome’s blockbuster pantomime, Aladdin.

Lee will also appear in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Hippodrome next year.

Lauren Foster recently caught with Lee to find out more...

Your tour - Some Enchanted Evening - takes the audience back in time to the 1940s and ’50s. What draws you to this type of music, Lee, as opposed to, for example, a genre like pop?
Growing up, I used to watch a lot of films like South Pacific and Guys And Dolls, so I wanted to tour a show featuring those sort of songs - but with a modern twist on the arrangements and the music itself.

You’ve been working on your fourth album. When will it be released and what can we expect?
It’s coming out next Spring. It’s ten tracks and will feature songs from the tour I’m doing at the moment - for example, Where Or When, Some Enchanted Evening and All The Things You Are. It’s a real mix of numbers. There’s a song called I See You In My Dreams as well, which is quite a sweet number. It’s taken a while to record because I’m down in Cardiff in the week filming Casualty. It’s like doing two full-time jobs.

Your Casualty co-star, Amanda Henderson, who plays Robyn Miller, is on tour with you. How did this come about?
I’ve known Amanda almost two years on the show and we’re really good friends, I didn’t initially realise that she could sing. She was in the film version of Les Miserables, and she did Oliver! in the West End for two years as well. She’s got a lovely voice, a really cracking voice, and a nice tone - which a lot of female singers have got - but there aren’t many female singers who have a strong belt. She can hit some really big notes, which is really nice. She’s doing four or five numbers in the show. We do a few numbers together.

What was it like joining a fast-moving TV series like Casualty? Did it take much getting used to?
It did initially. I’d been a guest on the show prior to that and had also appeared in an episode of a Sky TV series called Bedlam, so I had some experience on camera but hadn’t had a regular role. There was an initial adjustment to make - it’s obviously very different to being on stage - but I really enjoy it. It’s nice to balance out the work.

Going back to your Joseph days, you were the winner of the BBC’s Any Dream Will Do casting series back in 2007. Does it still feel like a dream?
I’m very blessed for that opportunity. It was a big show and I got to work with Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was a part I’d wanted to play since I was a kid. I think what it gave me was that platform. I think there were ten million people a week watching the show. It was the first of its kind in terms of guys, so it was quite groundbreaking. Going out to that many people each week, for twelve weeks, you’re instantly recognised and can use that platform to do more things. I’ve been very lucky to be able to do my own show, make records and appear in TV roles. For me, it was always about having a career and working. I’m quite proud of the fact that I haven’t gone off the radar, which can often happen with a lot of people who win that type of show.

Winning the show kick-started your career. Would you say it was your proudest moment?
There’ve been a few moments like that. Getting the part in Casualty was a great moment too. Singing at Wembley to eighty thousand people was another, as was getting a record deal with Universal. And it was always a dream to sing at the Albert Hall, which I’ve now done three times. I used to see lots of shows there as a kid, but never in a million years did I think I’d get to sing there - or to share the stage with Ronnie Wood, Mick Hucknall and people like that. I did a charity concert with them, which was pretty amazing. Some really great moments.

With fame comes public attention. Both your work and personal life have been given a lot of press. What’s your coping strategy for living in the public eye?
Don’t read anything that’s written. It’s as simple as that. And if people approach me to talk about it, I politely say, ‘Look it’s obviously personal’. It’s quite bizarre, to be honest; it’s not normal. It comes with the job - but with my personal life, there has to be a line. It’s important for all of us - yourself, the Queen or whoever - to have a part of ourselves that we keep private.

You’ve appeared in numerous West End shows. Which was your favourite?
I don’t really have a favourite. Every show’s different. I’ve been from Joseph to Wicked to Legally Blonde and enjoyed them all. And Miss Saigon. I’ve loved them all because they’re all so different, and I’ve been lucky enough to play very different parts. Chris in Miss Saigon was a GI and there were big songs and big duets in the show. Then, in Legally Blonde, I played Emmett Forrest, a slightly geeky lawyer guy who’s Elle’s friend. He supports her, their friendship builds and ends up blossoming into something else. It’s a very witty book and a very clever and funny show. I’ve had a chance to appear in these big, classic musicals like Miss Saigon but also to experience a modern-day musical. It’s hard to choose, really - I haven’t got a favourite as such.   

Are there any big musical numbers you’ve grown to dislike over time?
With TV or film you’re shooting different scenes and following different scripts each time. With a play or a musical you’re doing the same thing every night, so it’s easy to slip into auto-pilot, which is a danger zone for any actor. I think it’s about knowing there’s a new audience every night who’re paying fifty-odd quid a ticket to come and see you. It’s actually about being really present in the moment with whatever you’re saying or singing. It’s easier said than done when you’re nine months into a run - you shouldn’t be thinking about what sort of food you’re going to have after the show is finished or anything like that!

Has performing been a passion from a young age or was there another career path you wanted to take?
Not really. I started quite late. I was eighteen or nineteen when I started training. I went to a very small college in Southend, so I didn’t really have a solid form of training. I used to read a lot and attend a lot of classes in London. I put in a lot of work before I got my first break, working as part of an entertainments team on a car ferry. I did some cabaret for eighteen months before getting a part in Joseph on tour. It was a big number-one tour and I was in the chorus. From that point onwards I just went from show to show. I was about twenty when I got my first job, but prior to that I did a couple of local amateur shows. Before that I just dreamed of being a footballer, but I soon realised that wasn’t going to happen because I wasn’t actually very good. In my mind I was good, but in reality it was a different story. I was never going to be playing with Wayne Rooney, so it was a good job I could sing and act!

Your work takes you from stage to recording studio to TV. Which do you prefer? 
I always wanted to do variety and feel very lucky I can do that. Some actors don’t sing, they just do plays their whole career, but I’ve been very lucky to do TV, plays, musical theatre, albums and pantomimes. It’s nice because I don’t get too bored. The next job is different from the last. So again, I wouldn’t like to choose one. I like them all. 

Is there a particular area you’d like to concentrate on in the future? 
I’d like to do more TV and film, but generally it just depends on the project. I wouldn’t take just any TV role or any show. You’ll get a call from your agent saying this particular play has come up or this particular TV role is available. Sometimes you can’t always be that selective, but you learn to take it as it comes. It’s nice to have a varied career - it’s definitely the best part of what I do. 

You’re playing the lead role in Birmingham Hippodrome’s Aladdin pantomime. What do you enjoy about panto?
It’s just so much fun - and camp as well. It’s brilliant. I get to be camp for twelve shows a week over Christmas. There’s no other form of theatre where you get three generations of family. You get the kids, the parents and the grandparents. There’s no musical or play where you’d have that, so that’s quite special. My daughter, Betsy, is five. She comes each year and absolutely loves it. She sits through the whole thing, so I enjoy doing it for her. I have a lot of fun doing it. It’s a chance to share people’s Christmas. It’s quite a tough schedule. We do twelve shows a week for five or six weeks, so I often just crash when it’s finished and have a nice holiday.

At the Hippodrome this year, as in previous pantomimes, you’re playing the ‘good guy’. Have you ever considered playing the villain, or even a dame?
Not a dame, not yet. I think they cast you as that when you’re in your fifties or older, so maybe one day. But yes, it would be nice to play a bad character. That would be nice in a straight acting role as well, to play a really mean character and do something completely different. As an actor, that’s what you look for - different roles and different challenges. It just hasn’t come along yet. 

And finally, what’s in the pipeline for 2016?
There are talks about a third year in Casualty. I’m really happy there. It’s a big show, one of the biggest on television. It’s not been confirmed yet, though; we’re talking contracts at the moment. I’ve got the fourth album coming out next Spring, with a few concerts. Then, hopefully, there’ll be a big tour at the end of next year and maybe a panto. If I’m not filming next year in Casualty, it would be nice to get into a big show again and do a new musical, but it’s still too early to say anything for definite.