Lee Mead will be walking the tightrope as spectacular circus musical Barnum comes to the Woking Theatre from May 19 to 23.

The man who shot to national fame by winning the BBC talent show Any Dream Will Do in 2007 is now portraying P. T. Barnum, founder and ringmaster of a circus known as the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’.

Beating off competition from 10,000 hopefuls to take home the multi-coloured coat and win the lead role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was brilliant, but Lee even defies gravity in Barnum.

He said: “I was just opposite the train station in Shrewsbury when my agent called and said the Bill Kenwright company would love you to play the role of Barnum.

“It was a straight offer, which was very nice after years of auditioning for roles. They knew my history. I met the director and producer for an hour, then at the end of the interview they said ‘You’ll be walking the tightrope!’

“I almost didn’t take the role, as it takes two years to train to walk the tightrope at the height I do, and I only had nine months to learn. To begin with I couldn’t even stay on it a foot off the ground.

“Psychologically and mentally it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It’s an incredible moment when I do it in the show. When I’m an old man I will be one of the few men to play that role, which is great.”

A family interest in Barnum helped persuade Lee, 44, to ignore the danger.

He said: “Lil and Bert, my nan and grandad, saw Michael Crawford in Barnum when it opened in London in 1981, and they saved up for a year to see that.”

And his first job - a singer on the three-day car ferry trip from Portsmouth to Bilbao - taught him the art of balance.

Lee said: “I had a six-month contract at £40 a cruise. The ferry goes across the Bay of Biscay, which is the second rockiest ocean in the world, so I was often trying to avoid falling over on stage!

“You could say I experienced the very bottom of the industry with that job, and the very top in the West End, so I’ve been very lucky. But I’ve always been a grafter and appreciated the success I’ve had.”

Next year it will be 20 years since Lee won Any Dream Will Do, and he will celebrate in style.

He said: “We’re going to have a big anniversary tour from September 2027, and I will be singing songs and telling stories about my career. That will be for everyone who saw the show and voted for me!”

Lee urged the Woking public to see Barnum: “You’ll be missing out if you don’t come and catch it because it truly is a wonderful show about this wonderful guy who created the circus. It’s a joyous evening of great music and song.”

For tickets, priced from £18.95, visit www.wokingtheatre.co.uk