Michael rediscovers Wales and he’s having a Ball...
IF YOU want the answer to your burning question – yes, it’s only two minutes into this travel show before Michael Ball is belting out a tune.
He’s in the car on route to Wales – his mother’s homeland – and he’s excited.
Michael’s not even standing on a lush green hilltop yet, when we expect him to go full on Sound Of Music.
The world-famous singer and musical star is a cheerful guide to Wales in this fourparter which sees him return to his motherland.
He says: “Travelling across this incredible landscape, I’ll be rediscovering my Welsh heritage, tasting the local cuisine and taking in the spectacular scenery, embracing the culture and Celtic pride in this wonderful land of song.”
First he heads to South Wales to have a cuppa and slice of cake with his Auntie Denise, who tells how the area has changed over the decades.
He tells her: “I do feel Welsh. I always make the joke, ‘If it comes to rugby or war, I’ll be a Welshman’.”
Finding out more about his family history, Michael heads to a colliery where he learns what life would have been like for his grandfather, who started working down a mine when he was just 14.
He visits the area that supplied coal to power the Titanic, and on the Gower Peninsula, learns about cockle harvesting.
And in Cardiff, he visits the world-class theatre at the Wales Millennium Centre, where he finds the “best seat in the house” – the one he dedicated to his Welsh gran.