Brian Conley & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway", and took over from Michael Ball in the musical "Hairspray" playing the role of Edna Turnblad at London's Shaftesbury Theatre. He also played the same role in the UK Tour of "Hairspray", sharing the role with Michael Ball and actor Michael Starke, at selected UK venues. He has also partaken in his own live show, "The Best of Brian Conley", which showcases 'the best' of Brian's material from his past shows, interspersed with occasional showreels of either Larry the Loafer, Dangerous Brian (depending on who Brian is about to come on stage as) or a
Michael Ball (singer) of "Les Misérables" for the Queen and her guests at Windsor Castle in 2004. In 2005, with 10 days' notice, he replaced Michael Crawford as Count Fosco in "The Woman in White" after poor health forced Crawford to give up the role. In November 2005, Ball returned to Broadway as Count Fosco in "The Woman in White", which transferred from London's West End. He was, however, forced to leave the show because of a viral infection supposedly caused by the fat suit required for the role; this reportedly raised Ball's body temperature by several degrees during the show. In September