View source for Ben James-Ellis

{{Short description|English stage and script actor}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox person
|image =
| name                    = Ben James-Ellis
| birth_date               = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1988|12|22}}
| birth_place              = [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]], North Yorkshire, England
| death_date               =
| death_place              =
| othername               =
| occupation              = Actor
| years_active             =
| spouse                  =
| domesticpartner         =
| awards                  = Whatsonstage Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical<br>2008 ''[[Hairspray (musical)|Hairspray]]''
}}
'''Benjamin James Ellis''' (born 22 December 1988) is an English stage and script actor who starred in the role of [[Hairspray (musical)#Principal roles|Link Larkin]] in the [[West End theatre|West End]] production of the musical ''[[Hairspray (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 (TV series)|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|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 [[West End theatre|West End]] revival of the [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] musical ''[[Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat]]''. 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 (song)|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 "[[Barry (album)|I Made It Through The Rain]]". 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 "[[Songs from Les Misérables#I Dreamed a Dream|I Dreamed a Dream]]" from the musical ''[[Les Misérables (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 Sunday Night Project|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]], held at [[Liverpool Empire Theatre]], Liverpool, in front of [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]. The show was screened on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]], on 9 December.<ref name="imdb1067085">
{{cite web
| title = The Royal Variety Performance 2007
| publisher = [[Internet Movie Database]]
| url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1067085
| accessdate = 28 May 2008}}</ref> On 19 February 2008 he was a ''[[Ready Steady Cook]]'' contestant on [[BBC Two]] 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 (musical)|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===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
|-
| 2007 || [[BBC]] series ''[[Any Dream Will Do (TV series)|Any Dream Will Do]]'' || Himself
|-
| 2007 || ''[[The Friday Night Project]]'' || Himself
|-
| 2007 || ''[[The Paul O'Grady Show]]'' || Himself
|-
| 2007 || ''[[Royal Variety Performance]]'' || Link Larkin
|-
| 2008 || ''[[Ready Steady Cook]]'' || Himself
|-
| 2008 || ''[[The Weakest Link]] West End Special'' || Himself
|-
| 2008 || ''[[Children in Need]]'' || Link Larkin
|-
| 2008 || ''[[The Alan Titchmarsh Show]]'' || Link Larkin
|-
| 2008 || ''[[Tonight's the Night (TV series)|Tonight's The Night]]'' || Link Larkin
|-
| 2008 || ''[[Let's Dance for Comic Relief]]'' || Link Larkin
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Noel's HQ]]'' || Himself
|}
==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.<ref name="wos8821203958244">
{{cite news
| title = Winners Get Kisses at WOS Awards Show
| publisher = [[BBC]]
| date = 25 February 2008
| url = http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821203958244
| accessdate = 28 May 2008
| url-status = dead
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110517142743/http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821203958244
| archivedate = 17 May 2011
}}</ref>
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]] 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]] hits. [[Brian Conley]] and [[Darren Day]] also starred.
In June 2011 Ben joined the touring cast of [[Dreamboats and Petticoats]] 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===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Theatre
! Location
|-
| 2007 || ''[[Dirty Dancing]]'' || Johnny || {{n/a}} || UK National Tour
|-
| 2007-09 || ''[[Hairspray (musical)|Hairspray]]'' || Link Larkin ||[[Shaftesbury Theatre]] || [[West End theatre|West End]]
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Michael Ball]]: Past & Present, 25th Anniversary Tour'' || Lead Vocalist || {{n/a}} || UK National Tour
|-
| 2009-10 || ''[[Peter Pan]]'' || Peter Pan || [[Hull New Theatre]] || [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]]
|-
| 2010 || ''The Hostage'' || The Cockney Soldier || [[Southwark Playhouse]] || [[London]]
|-
| 2010 || ''[[Dreamboats and Petticoats]]'' || Norman || [[Playhouse Theatre]] || West End
|-
| 2010-11 || ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' || The Prince || Hawth Theatre || [[Crawley]]
|-
| 2011 || ''The Brother Loves Traveling Salvation Show'' || Neil || {{n/a}} || UK National Tour
|-
| 2011-12 || ''Dreamboats and Petticoats'' || Norman || {{n/a}} || UK National Tour
|-
| 2012-13 || ''[[Jack and the Beanstalk]]'' || Jack || [[Wolverhampton Grand Theatre]] || [[Wolverhampton]]
|-
| 2013-17 || ''[[Cunard]]'s [[Queen Mary 2]] Performer'' || Lead Singer || {{n/a}} || Worldwide
|-
| 2017-18 || ''[[Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat]]'' || Pharaoh || {{n/a}} || UK National Tour
|-
| 2018-19 || ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' || The Prince || Maidstone Panto || [[Maidstone]]
|}
==Recordings==
In 2008 James-Ellis recorded a song with the ''[[Wicked (musical)|Wicked]]'' actress [[Alexia Khadime]] for the CD ''Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange'', an album of 20 brand new recordings by 26 [[West End theatre|West End]] 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.<ref name="wos493">
{{cite news
| title = The 2008 Theatregoers' Choice Award winners
| publisher = [[BBC]]
| date =25 February 2008
| url =http://awards.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=493
| accessdate =28 May 2008 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080430150156/http://awards.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=493| archivedate= 30 April 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/joseph ''Any Dream Will Do'' Homepage]
*{{IMDb name|id=2617494|name=Ben James-Ellis}}
{{Andrew Lloyd Webber musical revival search}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:James-Ellis, Ben}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Scarborough, North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:1988 births]]