star chat
Singer and Radio 2 host Michael Ball (60), on suffering depression and the importance of being kind
Kindness is key
Meeting Captain Sir Tom Moore was life changing. He was all about positivity. Through my Radio 2 show I loved the challenge of getting Tom to No.1 in 2020 with a cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone. He thought it was hilarious that he was top of the charts on his 100th birthday. His kindness, humility, dignity and sense of duty made such an important impression on all of us.
Listen to advice
A lovely lady at Surrey County Youth Theatre helped me get into the Guildford School of Acting just as I was asked to leave my private school where I was failing my A-levels. Mum and Dad really encouraged my artistic side, but my gran Agnes, known as Lil, was the matriarch of the family. I think she recognised a talent in me. She encouraged me to get out the dressing-up box. When I played Edna Turnblad in Hairspray in the West End I modelled her on Gran.
It’s good to talk
Particularly about mental health. I had a bout of depression in 1985 when I was 23 and playing Marius in the original West End production of Les Misérables. I had panic attacks and I lost my confidence and my ability to perform. It was terrifying as you can’t control it and I wish I’d spoken more about it at the time. It’s something that has followed me throughout my life, if I’m overworked and stressed, but I have found a way of dealing with it. I practise the Emotional Freedom Technique, in which you tap key parts of the body to open energy pathways to distract your mind.
Life serves curved balls
When I suffered
