Michael's gone all Wobbly

~ 1993 ~

Believe it or not, showman Michael Ball is suffering from stage fright. Check for yourself this week, when he stars in his new series of shows on ITV

You'd think that the man who's starred in the big West End shows The Phantom of the Opera and Aspects of Love wouldn' know what the word nervous meant. But Michael Ball (right) says that nothing could be further from the truth. The prospect of making his new TV show - where he gets to meet and perform with musical biggies such as Cliff Richard, Ray Charles, Gloria Estefan and Tammy Wynette - has left the poor man feeling distinctly twitchy.

'I'm not sleeping at night and everyone in the house is thrilled with me when I get up at four in the morning, make the tea and turn on TV. Even the dog's having a nervous breakdown, thinking: "Oh no, Dad's up again."

He prepared for the six half-hour shows by hiring a personal trainer to help get him into shpe. 'I'm Slimfasting, as we speka,' says Michael, who piled on the pounds when he gave up his 40-a-day cigarette habit last year.

'They tell you to have two shakes, then one meal in the evening. the trouble is, I feel so deprived that my one meal is enough for a family of 12!"

'I've cut down on drinking, as well. But,' insists 30-year-old Michael, who appeared on stage in Aspects of Love in boxer shorts, 'I won't be revealing any bits of my body in this show. these days, they all wobble at a different rate!"