Lee Mead steps down as Joseph
- 00:01:34
- ITN
Lee Mead steps down as Joseph
Reality TV star Gareth Gates said he is fulfilling a dream by performing in a lead role on the West End. The singer will take over from Lee Mead in the musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat from February next year. Mead, The Any Dream Will Do winner, is leaving the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber show on January 10. Gates, who was runner-up in the first ever Pop Idol in 2002, said in a statement: "I have a lot to thank Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for as it is the reason I first started singing, after being chosen to play the lead in a school production when I was eight years old. "Ever since then it's been a dream of mine to appear in a West End musical. "I am really honoured to be appearing at the Adelphi, stepping into that famous coat, and really can't wait to get stuck in!" The new staging of the record-breaking 1990s London Palladium production is a colourful retelling of the Biblical story of Joseph and his uncanny abilities. The score includes hits such as Close Every Door and Any Dream Will Do. The new production opened at London's Adelphi theatre in July 2007 to full houses.
ITN | November 26, 2008
