Andrew Lloyd Webber launched four talent shows to find his next West End star – and many of the contestants have gone on to have incredible careers.

Between 2006 and 2010, Andrew Lloyd Webber launched four musical theatre shows with the BBC, and they proved to be a smash hit with audiences.

With live performances, a star-studded panel of judges and new acting challenges every week, the talent show series launched many early careers in both music and acting.

The shows were presented by Graham Norton, and stars to grace the judging panel included John Barrowman, Denise Van Outen, the late Barry Humphries and, of course, Lloyd Webber himself.

The first series in 2006, entitled How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?, aimed to find the West End’s next Maria von Trapp in Lloyd Webber and David Ian’s stage production of The Sound of Music.

In 2007’s Any Dream Will Do, the search was on to find the next Joseph in the revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

2008’s I’d Do Anything aimed to find two different stars for the upcoming revival of Oliver!, as they needed to cast both Nancy and Oliver.

The final series in 2010, called Over the Rainbow, put out a casting call for an actress to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, as well as a dog to play Toto.

Despite the talent show’s short run, huge names have emerged from its four seasons, including the likes of Jessie Buckley, Samantha Barks and Lee Mead.

Without further ado, let’s take a look back at some of Lloyd Webber’s biggest stars.

Connie Fisher – How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

Connie Fisher won How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
Connie Fisher won the first ever BBC talent show to find Andrew Lloyd Webber’s next West End star.

In 2006, she earned stellar reviews for her role as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music, and her West End contract was extended until 2008, before she resumed the role to join the UK tour in 2009.

Casualty fans might also recognise Fisher for her recurring role as patient Amanda in the BBC One medical drama series.

Sadly, she was diagnosed with congenital sulcus vocalis in 2011 and was told she would never sing again, which led her to pursue other roles.

Lee Mead – Any Dream Will Do

Lee Mead went on to win Any Dream Will Do ( 
Image:
BBC)
Lee Mead was the popular winner of 2008’s Any Dream Will Do, going on to star as Joseph in the West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Since then he has enjoyed plenty of success in the theatre world, starring in musicals like Wicked, Legally Blonde and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

In 2014, he also joined the cast of Casualty, playing the role of Ben ‘Lofty’ Chiltern, a part he reprised for Holby City in 2017. His other TV credits include Motherland and The Dumping Ground.

Jodie Prenger – I’d Do Anything

Jodie Prenger won I’d Do Anything
After a close competition for the role of Nancy in 2008’s I’d Do Anything, it was Jodie Prenger who came out victorious, going on to star in Oliver! on the West End.

Before I’d Do Anything, Jodie won the second series of The Biggest Loser in 2006, making her the first woman in the world to win the show after losing a staggering 9 stone.

In 2022, Jodie began playing Glenda Shuttleworth in ITV’s Coronation Street, and she has also appeared in Waterloo Road and as a guest panellist on Loose Women.

Her other theatre credits include Calamity Jane, Annie and One Man, Two Guvnors.

Jessie Buckley – I’d Do Anything

Jessie Buckley previously dated James NortonDon’t Miss
While she was only the runner-up in I’d Do Anything, Jessie Buckley has since become a Hollywood star since then

Her breakthrough role was in 2018 musical film Wild Rose, where she received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Buckley’s performance in The Lost Daughter also earned her nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2021, she also earned a Laurence Olivier Award for her incredible performance as Sally Bowles in Cabaret on the West End.

Her other notable roles include War & Peace, Chernobyl, Women Talking and Fargo.

Samantha Barks – I’d Do Anything

Samantha Barks became a huge musical theatre star
Samantha Barks placed third on BBC’s I’d Do Anything, but went on to be one of the show’s biggest successes. She made her Hollywood film debut just a few years later in 2012, where she starred as Éponine in the Tom Hooper-directed Les Misérables.

She starred opposite Jonathan Bailey in the Disney Channel musical-comedy Groove High and was also a judge on ITV’s Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream.

Barks has also continued to see a lot of success in the theatre world, originating the role of Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman: The Musical on Broadway in 2016. Since 2021, she has played Elsa in the West End production of Frozen.

Danielle Hope – Over the Rainbow

Danielle Hope won Over the Rainbow
Danielle Hope was the winner of Lloyd Webber’s final BBC series, Over the Rainbow, which launched her into stardom as Dorothy in the West End’s Wizard of Oz.

A year later, she was cast as Éponine in Les Misérables in the West End, starting in June 2012.

Her other theatre credits include The Last Five Years, The Sound of Music, Grease and Kinky Boots.

Sophie Evans – Over the Rainbow

Sophie Evans has enjoyed a successful West End career
Over the Rainbow’s Sophie Evans was a runner-up on the BBC series, but she ended up still playing the alternate role of Dorothy in 2011’s The Wizard of Oz, going on to take it up full-time in 2012.

She also went on to bag the part of Glinda in the West End production of Wicked in 2017 and again in 2021.

Her film and TV credits include The World’s End, Pride, Gangs of London and Under Milk Wood.

Stephanie Davis – Over the Rainbow

Stephanie Davis has starred in Hollyoaks and Corrie
Soap star Stephanie Davis may have started her TV journey on Over the Rainbow, only coming in 7th on the BBC show, but her career has gone in a different direction since then.

Stephanie is best known for playing Sinead O’Connor in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks between 2010 and 2019.

She also joined the cast of Coronation Street as Courtney Vance in May 2023.

Additionally, she was the runner-up in the seventeenth series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2016.