Rainbow's end: Winner Danielle Hope with judge Charlotte Church Danielle Hope says she felt a bit like a wallflower during the early stages of BBC1's search for a Dorothy to star in the new West end production of The Wizard Of Oz.
She admits she didn't have the big personality or the quirkiness of some of the other girls and, to add to her shyness, she was inwardly terrified.
But with Andrew Lloyd Webber and the other judges urging more acting and emotion - on top of the essential singing and dancing skills - Danielle, 18, suddenly summoned up tremendous depth and feeling to win her the role.
Where does the pain and vulnerability in her performance come from? It turns out she was drawing on her own life.
'I think it comes back to my mum and dad getting divorced when i was 11. At that age, the transition from primary to high school is traumatic enough. I just took it in, dealt with it and grew up.'
That period wasn't without its tears. 'My parents were happier apart, much better as people. it's quite a strange thing to accept at that age because instantly you think life as you know it is over. Then you realise that it happens, life is life, and people are people.
Star overnight: Hope at last night's premiere of Sex and the City 2 at the Odeon in London's Leicester Square'I think that might have been the making of me, because all of a sudden this security at home vanished and I had to stand on my own two feet.'
She remains close to both parents - her mother Tracy is a bar manager, and her father Brian is a builder. Danielle and her brother David, 16, have spent time living with both.
When we meet, she is understandably ebullient. Barefoot, in a slinky sleeveless floor length black jersey dress and devoid of the Dorothy corset and panstick, she has translucent skin - like the porcelain doll her mother compared her to when she was younger.
Only her mother was alluding to her lack of assertiveness rather than her complexion. 'My defence mechanism has always been to put my fences up,' she says.
'I wanted this so much, but i thought: "If I admit that, it's going to hurt ten times harder if I don't get it." I think sometimes it might have appeared that i didn't want it.
'But, finally, on the last show i put my heart on my sleeve and thought "There it is. Please, please, please don't break it." i just finally had to open up.'
Her worst moment was just prior to the live finals. She was standing in line as judge Charlotte Church walked up and down, placing her hand on the shoulder of the girls who wouldn't make it to the final live shows.
'She stopped in front of me and I thought: "Oh my God!" My heart was racing. She smiled like she was going to tap me, then she carried on and rejected the next person.'
Danielle says the Dorothys' relationship with the judges - Charlotte Church, Sheila Hancock and John Partridge - was detached.
'They didn't know us well. That way they could form a professional opinion. But they always had a reason for what they said.
'It was good because you could walk away with something to work on. Sheila's incredible.
'I wanted her advice on acting and she was straight to the point. If she didn't think it was right she would say so.
'I was afraid of John because I'd never been confident in my dance ability. When we danced, he twirled me round and I felt like a Disney princess. He was fabulous.'
Danielle insists there was no real rivalry in the Dorothy house in London's Chiswick.
'I was expecting hell. But we genuinely gelled. I was so close to different people for different reasons at different times. We were so supportive of each other.
Close contest: Hope went head-to-head with Welsh redhead Evans in the final
They've found their Dorothy... and their Toto: Hope and Dave join the judging panel Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sheila Hancock, Charlotte Church, John Partridge and Graham Norton'We just felt we were in it together. if each person had thought it was their show and wanted to dominate, it wouldn't have worked.
'There were times when it would have been easy to fall apart and be on our own, but if you're going through a stressful time you need others. 'The other girls were the only people who could understand.'
One of the most uncomfortable parts for the girls was having to say who they thought should be voted off that week.
'I said to Steph once: "You were in the bottom two last week, can i say you and you say me?" and she said I could. 'We hated it because we felt the programme makers wanted to create some sort of atmosphere and it always came out differently to the way it was intended.
That was really difficult, but none of us took it personally.' In the final Andrew Lloyd Webber saved his highest praise for Danielle, telling her: 'You are a worthy follower for the greats like Liza Minnelli and, of course, the wonderful Judy Garland.'
Danielle says: 'I'm flattered, but i didn't know who Andrew wanted. I think this is why he was so professional about it. He would have been happy to work with any of us.'
Before she heads off over the rainbow there are a few situations to deal with.
She takes her A-level theatre studies exam on June 9 before beginning rehearsals for the show at the London Palladium.
Back home in Urmston, south Manchester, she has a boyfriend of nine months,
Taylor Danson, 18. 'He's been so supportive,' she says. 'At this age you don't know, do you? You can only live life day by day. Who knows what will happen in the future, but I'm happy with where i am now.'
The charity single Over The Rainbow is out now on download and CD on Monday. Tickets for The Wizard Of Oz are on sale now. Visit wizardof ozthemusical.com
source: dailymail
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