From childhood memories to recent loss, the West End star on the experiences outside the spotlight that have defined him.
I was always laughing and singing and obsessed with superheroes, but then aged ten, I went to boarding school in Plymouth, which was awful.
Boarding schools are wrong. Well, wrong for me. It was too regimented and I missed my parents.
When I came home in the holidays to Farnham, Surrey, I knew no one, so I felt quite isolated.
My dad, who had wanted to be an actor, took me to the theatre when I was 14 and that’s what got me interested.
But my inspiration was my gran Agnes, known as Lil, who lived in Wales. She recognised something in me. She nurtured that side of me; we would put on sketches together.
A lot of Edna, the role I played in the musical Hairspray, was based on Gran: her physicality – she was a big woman – and her presence.
She was born in a Welsh mining village and was very strong, very matriarchal, always right. On her 90th birthday, I asked if she fancied going to The Ritz for dinner or having a party. She replied, saying, “I want to get a tattoo and to go on the fastest, longest zip wire in North Wales.”
So, she got a Welsh dragon tattooed on her forearm a bit like Nessa’s in Gavin & Stacey and I took her and the family to North Wales and we did the fastest, longest zipwire.
She died last August in hospital aged 91 with major heart problems. I slept on the floor beside her for a few nights. On her last night, my sister Katherine and I were there to hold her hand and at 4am she was gone.
It was incredibly sad, but not a tragedy, because nothing was left unsaid. It was as near to a perfect passing as it could be. My dad is 92 with dementia but is still happy as Larry and knows who we all are.
When I met [my partner] Cath in the Eighties, she had a daughter Emma [then 16, now in her fifties]. Em and her husband lived with us throughout her pregnancy with Connor and we were there when he was born. He is 25 now and has a successful fitness coaching business and his sister Gracie, 23, plays rugby for Team GB.
Cath and I watched her in Paris when she was in the Olympics. Cath didn’t want to be called Grandma or Nanny, so we decided on Grumpy. But as a baby, Connor couldn’t say that word so it became Bumpy and I am Bally.
We are so proud of them all. And we are good grandparents, I have to say. I didn’t know I’d suddenly be in the middle of this beautiful family, it changed my life.
Michael’s new album Glow is out now, and his UK tour kicks off in Cambridge on August 26.
Subscribe to Saga Magazine from just £1 and read the rest of this article in the Saga Magazine app. You’ll get access to our digital archive of over 40 back issues, plus the current edition.
Click below for your chance to win a 15-night cruise to the Canary Islands on board Saga's Spirit of Adventure, worth more than £8,300.
Dame Prue Leith talks about her secret to staying young and why she’s finally slowing down at 86.
TV’s Dr Hilary Jones on why he wants sweeping reform to modern healthcare.
The actor bids farewell to Downton and looks forward to his starring role in a new West End show.
The TV historian on overcoming a difficult childhood and what it was like to appear on Celebrity Traitors.
The wildlife filmmaker on his close call with a polar bear and why hanging out with lions is less scary than driving in the UK.
The Irish author, 62, on escaping the news through writing, staying sober and scrolling the internet for pretty things.
The actress opens up to Jenni Murray on Saga's podcast Experience is Everything.
