Andrew Lloyd Webber starts TV search for Dorothy!

By Patrick McLennan
( What's on TV )
published

Andrew Lloyd Webber starts TV search for Dorothy!
Andrew Lloyd Webber starts TV search for Dorothy! (Image credit: alanpeebles.com)

Andrew Lloyd Webber is kicking off a new TV talent search to find the next star of his production of The Wizard of Oz. Over The Rainbow will see the theatre boss follow the success of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, I’d Do Anything and Any Dream Will Do with a hunt for Dorothy and Toto. Andrew Lloyd Webber said: "Our previous musical talent searches have provided an incredible shot in the arm for musical theatre in Britain. "I can’t wait to work with the BBC again in the hunt for Dorothy – an iconic role of course made famous by a young Judy Garland in the film in 1939 but as a cat man myself, however, I approach casting Toto with considerable trepidation." The auditions will start in the coming months with Graham Norton hosting the shows. BBC One boss Jay Hunt said: "The Wizard of Oz is one of THE great musicals and I am sure BBC One audiences will delight in having a front row seat in the casting of a new musical star."

Patrick McLennan
Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.