28/07/2026
20 years ago today the first double-episode of a new TV show premiered to over 8 million people in the UK.
By the 5th August, this was me singing “Son of a Preacher Man” live on TV to over 8 million people. From thousands of auditionees, I had been chosen as one of the 10 potential “Maria’s” to battle for the lead role in West End Production of The Sound of Music at the .
Let’s rewind. In May 2006, I had just attended a gruelling opera masterclass at the of Music & Drama where I was undertaking my post-graduate vocal studies as part of my MA in Musicology at . My friend and I headed back to pick up our bags, and noticed a notice on the notice board - “are you Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Maria?” Slightly confused why Sir Lloyd Webber was looking for a Maria when he was neither Rodgers nor Hammerstein, a quick search online gave me a little more insight, and led me to the online registration page on the BBC website; and before I knew it, I’d sent off my registration email, and was at Wembley, auditioning with thousands of other other girls, including my friend from uni.
I had just turned 23, so I was not exactly a girl - I was also (and still am) a mezzo-soprano, brunette, from the Eastern Mediterranean, and did not necessarily tick the boxes for the archetypal Caucasian Austrian coloratura nun that the musical in question depicts. However, somehow, I ended up in the final 250 (after which I told my parents, and my mum excitedly came along to the next set of auditions with me - up until that point, I’d only told my sister what I was doing); then it was down to 50 after which we were sent to “Maria School” for a week; then down to 20, when it was off to Andrew’s House, the prestigious Sydmonton Estate where we performed in groups and as soloists in the converted church theatre in his garden to the likes of Cilla Black, Arlene Phillips, and our gorgeous host, . I sung “I feel Pretty” from West Side Story (one of my true dream roles) and my fate in the final 10 had been sealed.
Feels like only yesterday, yet a lifetime ago. What a blast! 🫶🏼�
