The BBC has denied that the appearance of Michael Ball at this year's Proms series is a sign that the event is 'dumbing down'.
Nicholas Kenyon, the Proms controller, says of Ball, who will perform at the Royal Albert Hall on 27 Aug: "I think he is one of the great, intelligent singing artists alive today. He deserves a place at the Proms just as much as performers in the great classical tradition... Our job is to cover the whole waterfront. The real test here is the audience. We are responding to what audiences want to hear".
This year's Prom season runs from 13 Jul to 8 Sep.