Ben Watton
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Ben Watton is an English child actor from Bournemouth, Dorset.
[edit] Theatre
Ben Watton's first professional stage appearance was at the age of 6, appearing as a mini Bobby Ball opposite the comedians Cannon and Ball in A Night of a Thousand Laughs at the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth. At the age of 7, he was chosen to play Tiny Tim in a new musical adaptation of "Scrooge" with Jakes Ladder Theatre Company, a small professional company, at Bryanston Arts Centre in Blandford and at the Tivoli Theatre in Wimborne, under the direction of Steve Eaton-Evans. At the age of 8, he played 'Michael Darling' in a Michael Rose musical production of "Peter Pan" at the Lighthouse, Poole, alongside Matthew Kelly, Tracey Childs and Michael Medwin, under the direction of Michael Rose and David Morgan.
Ben Watton made his West End debut aged 9, having been chosen at the age of 8 from nationwide open auditions to play 'Michael Banks' in the original cast of the Disney/Cameron Mackintosh musical "Mary Poppins", appearing at both the Bristol Hippodrome and the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End, under the direction of Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne.
He appeared in November 2005 as the 'Court Jester' in the world premiere of "George and the Fairytale", a play co-written and directed by the actress Sandra Dickinson and her partner Mark Osmond. In 2006/2007 he played the juvenile lead in "Robin Hood & The Babes In The Wood" for UK Productions, at the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth.
He continues to study drama part-time at The Stage Door School of Dance and Drama in Bournemouth, under principal Maureen Headford and drama coach Mark Osmond. He is also an accomplished drummer.
[edit] Film and television
Ben Watton's TV credits include the part of 'Andrew' in the CBBC drama Living It, the part of 'Fernando' in Series 7 of the popular children's sitcom My Parents Are Aliens, and the part of Peter Masterson in the long-running BBC hospital-drama 'Casualty'. He was also chosen to appear in a lead role in a performed reading of the pilot of a new children's sitcom, performed at a live Granada TV Showcase in London, and also featured in the 2006 "Are You There Yet?" BBC ident. He has also recently been involved in a script reading at Elstree Studios of the forthcoming feature film "Rocket Boy", reading the principal role of 'Davey'.
He has appeared in 14 short films, taking the leading role in no less than 5 of these.
Ben Watton also appears in leading roles in 2 separate series of educational DVD's, both now being used in various European countries to teach English to foreign students.