Joseph star shines in West End debut

Musical stage star Lee Mead has wowed critics with his first West End performance of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The winner of Any Dream Will Do impressed the audience at his debut show despite a technical hitch that shut down the production for ten minutes.

But the show went on after the problem - thought to be broken rotating floor - was fixed.

At the end of the show the cast of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical were treated to a standing ovation at London's Adelphi Theatre.

Backstage, Mead, from Southend, Essex, shrugged off the technical hitch, saying: "That's theatre, that happens."

Mead, 26, left thousands of hopefuls behind in the televised battle to play Joseph and fulfil his dream of playing a lead role in a musical.

He described his plight to break free of understudy work as a "long journey".

Mead added: "It's been hard work and it's a relief it's over. I am surprised how calm I am."

Former Josephs Jason Donovan and Steven Gately were in the crowd to support the rising star.

Lord Lloyd Webber said: "It was fantastic. He couldn't have done any better."

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