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 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.
