ME, DIFFICULT? YOU’D BETTER ASK MY WIFE...

Michael has a reputation as the ultimate showbiz ego, a man who pushes himself and everyone else hard, and his industry bust-ups have been as OTT as his shows.

He fell out with Riverdance and was once sued for €11 million by John Reid, Elton John’s exmanager, who accused him of breaching their contract. They settled out of court, but the accusations he’s a control freak are myriad. Jean Butler, his Riverdance co-star, is said to have once vowed to never work with him again, though she did dance in a TV tribute to him.

Does he think he’s a difficult man? He bristles. ‘I don’t see that. I’ve had the same people working with me for 20 years. My wife (left, with Michael) is the one to ask, and my son. I don’t know what you’re reading, but every time I’ve had a falling out it was because I believed I was doing what was right. But that is what you’d expect me to say.’ No regrets then? ‘I regret nothing in life. I feel I treated everybody fairly.’