Loves & Hates

“Swede should be banned from the face of the earth for being such a dull, horrible thing.”

Michael Ball, actor and singer

~ Sunday Telegraph - 02/11/2008 ~

Loves

Edna Turnblad

She's the character I play in Hairspray and I love everything about her. She'd be great as my mum – I mean, I love my mum, but I do adore Edna Turnblad. Being Edna for a couple of hours each night is fine by me. Although, I think if I had to be a woman permanently, I'd rather be Carla Bruni.

West Wittering Beach

We've got a little house down there that we escape to. Although it's great to go to places like Cyprus and stay in a hotel, and visit the spa – we've done that twice this year – I just love West Wittering. It's a great place to take a break.

Wines

I love discovering and drinking new wines. I've recently put in a little wine cellar, so I'm starting to collect. I like New World wines from New Zealand and the Marlborough region. I love the whole social thing around it too, sharing bottles and discovering new tastes together.

Sky +

It's great! It means I don't have to miss the X Factor. I can't watch evening TV because I'm in the theatre, and I love my telly. With Sky +, I've got it all there. Heroes, Lost, The Wire, 24…I get to see everything I want to.

The Books Of Jeffery Deaver

You can't beat a good serial killer. He has a terrific detective called Lincoln Rhyme, who's very analytical. He and his sidekick Amelia solve the most difficult crimes in the world. Highly recommendable.

Hates

Swede

I hate it in any way, shape or form. It should be banned from the face of the earth for being such a dull, horrible thing. The taste is disgusting and it overpowers everything you eat it with. I've had a lifelong hatred of it and I don't want anything to do with it.

Road Hogs

I hate people driving in the middle of the road. The sit in the middle lane and cause all the traffic jams. They should have their licenses removed. People think ‘I'm going to do this,” and it's to the detriment of everybody else.

Daylight Saving

I absolutely do not like it. It's fine if you're up in Scotland, but I'm not! I'm down here! When it's October and getting dark at four o'clock, it's so depressing. We should go back to what they did in the war, when they had British double summer time. Put the clock forward two hours in the summer so they are still one hour ahead of GMT in the winter.

Jukebox Musicals

Some of them have been great. Mamma Mia was lovely. But do we really want one based on the hits of Kylie? No. Of course we don't. It's those really bad jukebox musicals, they demean the whole thing.

Bad Service

People unwilling to do their job and making you feel terrible for being there. You're in a service industry – do it properly! In America, we were served by a waiter who was so obnoxious that we decided not to tip him. He ran after us shouting “You've forgotten to tip me!” and I said, “Don't chew glass. That's the only tip you're getting from me!”

Michael Ball is appearing in “Hairspray” in the West End, until April