Any Dream Will Do (TV series)


Any Dream Will Do, is a 2007 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. It searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a West End revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The show was hosted by Graham Norton, who announced Lee Mead as the winner of the final public telephone vote on 9 June 2007.
It was the second West-End talent show to be produced by the BBC/Andrew Lloyd Webber, after How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?. Further talent shows in the series have aired, with I'd Do Anything completing in 2008 and Over the Rainbow which ran in April/May 2010.
A similar format has been used as well in The Netherlands in 2008, with the show Op zoek naar Joseph taking an unknown singer and placing the winner in the lead role for the 2009 performances in The Netherlands. On 26 October 2008, Freek Bartels was announced the winner of this show.

Format

Commissioned after the success of the similar BBC series How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, the series followed the same format to find a new, unknown lead for a revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The series was named after the song from the musical, "Any Dream Will Do".

Expert panel

An expert panel provided advice to the contestants throughout the series, and provided comments during the live shows. As they appeared on screen from right to left, the panel was made up of:
The first week of the show documented the initial auditions where one hundred hopefuls, from thousands, were called back to London. This was further whittled-down by the panel of judges to fifty contestants who would enter Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph School". However, two additional entrants were selected over this fifty contestant limit after they went to Lloyd Webber's personal studio for a second audition.
In the second week, the fifty individuals selected attended "Joseph School" where the coaches worked on singing, acting and choreography with the contestants. Former Joseph actor Jason Donovan, amongst others, visited to lend his advice and support for them. On the second day, one contestant left the competition, twenty-three were eliminated and only twenty eight remained. On the third day, another eight men were eliminated, leaving only twenty contestants in the competition. These men were taken to Lloyd Webber's castle in Ireland, where they performed live in front of a packed house of locals and industry professionals including Louis Walsh. The best twelve were then taken through to the live studio finals.

Finalists

Twelve potential Josephs were chosen, each wearing a unique coloured coat. At the end of every live show, the Joseph who was eliminated had his coat stripped off whilst singing a song of farewell.
FinalistAgeFromCoat ColourStatus
Chris Crosby18NottinghamBurgundyEliminated 1st in Week 1
Johndeep More23BirminghamLime greenEliminated 2nd in Week 2
Antony Hansen17Abingdon, OxonPastel blueEliminated 3rd in Week 3
Seamus Cullen35LondonGreenEliminated 4th in Week 3
Chris Barton20OrmskirkLilacEliminated 5th in Week 4
Robert "Rob" McVeigh23RotherhamTurquoiseEliminated 6th in Week 5
Daniel Boys28LondonPurpleEliminated 7th in Week 6
Craig Chalmers25EdinburghDark blueEliminated 8th in Week 7
Ben Ellis18ScarboroughOrangeEliminated 9th in Week 8
Lewis Bradley17MiddlesbroughLight blueEliminated 10th in Week 9
Keith Jack19MidlothianYellowRunner-up
Lee Mead25Southend-on-SeaRedWinner

Results summary

;Colour key

Live shows

The twelve finalists,, were announced on 7 April 2007, with the live studio finals starting a week later. Each week the "Josephs" were set various singing and performing tasks each week. They were introduced with clips summarising their past week before performing a solo song and hearing comments from the panel. Each week they also performed two group songs, one from Joseph at the start of each show and one after the solo performances. All the performances were live in front of a studio audience, with a live band headed by Nigel Wright and backing singers.
Every week, a Joseph was eliminated from the competition. The public got a chance to vote for their favourite Joseph by calling in after all the finalists' solo performances. The two Josephs with the fewest votes in a given week performed a sing-off in front of Lloyd-Webber, who then decided which contestant to keep, based upon how well he felt that contender would fill the Joseph role. The eliminated Joseph then performed "Poor, Poor Joseph/Close Every Door" together with the remaining Josephs as his grand exit song, symbolically handing back his dreamcoat.

Week 1 (14 April 2007)

ContestantOrderSongResult
Rob McVeigh1"Summer of '69"Safe
Lee Mead2"Mack the Knife"Safe
Lewis Bradley3"Faith"Safe
Ben Ellis4"Johnny B. Goode"Bottom 2
Craig Chalmers5"Try a Little Tenderness"Safe
Johndeep More6"If There's Any Justice"Safe
Seamus Cullen7"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"Safe
Antony Hansen8"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"Safe
Chris Crosby9"This Love"Eliminated
Daniel Boys10"You Give Me Something"Safe
Chris Barton11"Walking in Memphis"Safe
Keith Jack12"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"Safe

ContestantOrderSongResult
Daniel Boys1"Since U Been Gone"Safe
Craig Chalmers2"Home"Safe
Keith Jack3"Who Am I"Safe
Seamus Cullen4"Being Alive"Safe
Ben Ellis5"All by Myself"Safe
Johndeep More6"Something's Coming"Eliminated
Chris Barton7"I'll Be There"Bottom 2
Rob McVeigh8"Piano Man"Safe
Antony Hansen9"Light My Fire"Safe
Lewis Bradley10"Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word"Safe
Lee Mead11"Bad Day"Safe

In a double elimination, two Josephs were voted off the series.
ContestantOrderSongResults Part 1Results Part 2
Seamus Cullen1"Start Me Up"SafeEliminated
Lewis Bradley2"I Saw Her Standing There"SafeSafe
Rob McVeigh3"Oh, Pretty Woman"SafeSafe
Antony Hansen4"Patience"EliminatedN/A
Chris Barton5"Tell Her About It"SafeSafe
Ben Ellis6"Life Is a Rollercoaster"SafeBottom 2
Daniel Boys7"The Lady Is a Tramp"SafeSafe
Lee Mead8"I Don't Want to Talk About It"SafeSafe
Keith Jack9"Crocodile Rock"SafeSafe
Craig Chalmers10"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"Bottom 2Safe

ContestantOrderSongResults
Ben Ellis1"Addicted to Love"Safe
Craig Chalmers2"December, 1963 "Bottom 2
Lee Mead3"All Right Now"Safe
Keith Jack4"Love Is All Around"Safe
Lewis Bradley5"Dancing in the Moonlight"Safe
Rob McVeigh6"Back for Good"Safe
Chris Barton7"All Night Long"Eliminated
Daniel Boys8"All About You"Safe

ContestantOrderSongResults
Rob McVeigh1"Born to Run"Eliminated
Daniel Boys2"Maggie May"Safe
Lewis Bradley3"I'm a Believer"Bottom 2
Lee Mead4"Leave Right Now"Safe
Craig Chalmers5"This is the Moment"Safe
Ben Ellis6"Help Yourself"Safe
Keith Jack7"Always on My Mind"Safe

With only six finalists remaining, the Josephs were announced in sets of three and performed in a trio as well as their individual performances.
ContestantOrderSongResults
Keith Jack1"Brown Eyed Girl"Safe
Lewis Bradley2"The Rose"Bottom 2
Ben Ellis3"Blue Suede Shoes"Safe
Craig Chalmers4"Black or White"Safe
Daniel Boys5"Evergreen"Eliminated
Lee Mead6"Paint it Black"Safe

One of the finalists was chosen by Josh Groban to perform "You Raise Me Up" with him live in front of the audience. Lee Mead was the lucky one while the remaining four were back-up singers.
ContestantOrderSongResults
Lee Mead1"Daydream Believer"Safe
Ben Ellis2"Crying"Bottom 2
Craig Chalmers3"Suspicious Minds"Eliminated
Lewis Bradley4"Hero"Safe
Keith Jack5"Let Me Entertain You"Safe

The semi-final was held on 2 June 2007, in which the remaining four Josephs competed for the three remaining spots in the final. Again announced in sets of two, the contestants performed duets of Andrew Lloyd Webber songs with another Joseph in addition to their solo performance. At the end of the show, the three finalists were announced.
ContestantOrderSongResults
Keith Jack1"Could It Be Magic"Safe
Ben Ellis2"Ease on Down the Road"Eliminated
Lewis Bradley3"Sweet Caroline"Bottom Two
Lee Mead4"Livin' on a Prayer"Safe

The final, held on 9 June 2007, featured three songs from each of the Josephs: in addition to their regular performance, each performed a big band number and the final two repeated their favourite song from the series. The opening song was performed by all 12 Josephs, supported by the winner of a national Joseph Choir search – the choir of East Ham's Brampton Primary School in east London.
ContestantOrderSongOrderBig Band SongOrderPrevious SongResult
Lewis Bradley1"Kiss"4"Beyond the Sea"N/AN/A Eliminated
Keith Jack2"For Once in My Life"5"Moondance"7"Always on My Mind"Runner-up
Lee Mead3" Devil in Disguise"6"Theme from New York, New York"8"Paint It Black"Winner

The success of the programme prompted the BBC to extend the series by an extra week, removing the need for a double eviction prior to the final. The new date for the final, 9 June 2007, ensured it would air directly opposite the final of ITV's competing show, Grease is the Word. This move paid off as the final of Any Dream Will Do managed to secure the upper hand over Grease is the Word in viewing figures with a peak of 8.5 million viewers and an audience share of 39.6%, compared with ITV's high of 4.9 million viewers.
In the final, over three million votes were cast with Lee Mead being announced as the winner. He sang "Any Dream Will Do" to close the series and his prize was six months in the lead role of a revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in London's West End.

After the series

Winner

Before the opening night of Joseph at London's Adelphi Theatre, publicity from the TV show had brought in £10 million in advance ticket sales, leading to a five-month extension to the show's run and an extension of Mead's contract until June 2008.
Mead's version of "Any Dream Will Do", along with "Close Every Door" performed by the three finalists, was released as a single to raise money for BBC Children in Need. It reached number two in the UK Singles Chart.
His first public performance after the win was on 1 July 2007 at the Concert for Diana at London's Wembley Stadium, where he sang "Any Dream Will Do" with former Joseph actors Donny Osmond and Jason Donovan.
Mead, along with the winner, Connie Fisher and last five runners-up of the previous Lloyd-Webber reality show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? starred in a one-off Christmas Eve special on BBC One entitled When Joseph Met Maria.

Other finalists

Fifth-placed Craig Chalmers was cast by Bill Kenwright as Joseph in the touring version of Joseph from 20 August 2007. The tour was due to have its first night in Bromley, London, less than 24 km from the Adelphi, where Kenwright was co-producer. In Chalmers' last week before viewers voted him off the programme, Kenwright had told him: "You wowed the audience and please God you are here next week for the semi-final." Chris Barton played Benjamin on the tour and at some matinees Joseph or the Narrator. He then went on to be a Swing in Spring Awakening in both Hammersmith and the Novello west end. Kenwright employed Chris Crosby on his new national tour of Half a Sixpence opening on 28 August 2007 at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley.
Keith Jack joined the cast of the touring Joseph production with Craig and Chris Barton. He played the Narrator, a part usually played by a woman though originally written for a male voice. His first official performance was on 1 October in Plymouth although he performed a couple of the final shows in High Wycombe on 28 and 29 September. He has now finished playing this role. He was recording an album to be released in early 2008 with a single from it issued in time for Christmas. In June 2010, Keith took the Dreamcoat from Craig and continued his role till May 2013.
In January 2008 Antony Hansen joined the cast of Bill Kenwright's touring production of Joseph as a brother. During this time Bill Kenwright formed a boy band named Dream On from the contestants on Any Dream Will Do. Hansen and fellow finalists Chalmers, Bradley, Crosby and Barton's debut album became a chart success in its first two weeks. In May 2008, Bill Kenwright cast Hansen as Pharaoh in the national tour of Joseph. In January/February 2009 Hansen played the lead role of Joseph for Bill Kenwright. Hansen joined the west end cast of Les Misérables in June 2009 in the ensemble and first cover Marius. July 2009 saw Hansen and fellow Any Dream Will Do contestant Craig Chalmers finish recording their 2nd album together with BK Productions – Saturday Night at the Movies.
Lewis Bradley was contracted by Lloyd Webber to play Joseph at the Adelphi Theatre during Mead's holiday absence, and possibly for an additional performance a week. Meanwhile, Ben James-Ellis landed the role of Link Larkin in the UK premiere of Hairspray: The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre from 11 October 2007. Daniel Boys went on to land many roles including performing in the Royal Festival Hall's concert production of Sweeney Todd, Landor Theatre's I Love You Because and the lead role of Princeton in Avenue Q at the Noël Coward Theatre. He also took part in the cabaret If You've Got It Flaunt It at the West End's Trafalgar Studios in September 2007.
Rob McVeigh entered the United Kingdom selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in a unique Joseph vs. Maria showdown. He lost the heat to his Maria counterpart Simona Armstrong.
Johndeep More went on to appear in Nevermind The Broadway and a pantomime Cinderella.
Craig Chalmers was to appear as Prince Charming in a pantomime, but was sacked when it came to light that he had previously appeared in porn films.

Criticism

In an interview with The Stage, the then-recently eliminated Daniel Boys questioned Andrew Lloyd Webber's stated aim of casting a Joseph outside the stereotype, "who's a bit of a Justin Timberlake, tiny touch of the Michael Jacksons and a bit of the Jude Laws," by pointing out that so far all the Josephs that were a bit outside of the traditional mould have been eliminated for exactly that reason.

Ratings

Ratings taken from BARB.