| Runtime: | 30–90mins |
| Creator: | Bea Ballard |
| Presenter: | Graham Norton |
| Judges: | Andrew Lloyd Webber John Barrowman Denise Van Outen Barry Humphries Cameron Mackintosh David Grindrod |
| Channel: | BBC One, BBC HD |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 22 |
| Location: | BBC TVC - TC1 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Company: | BBC |
I'd Do Anything is a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom and broadcast on BBC One.[1] It premièred on 15 March 2008.[2] The show centred on a search for a new, unknown lead to play Nancy and three young performers who would play Oliver Twist in the 2009 West End revival of the British musical Oliver!.
The show, named after the Oliver! song "I'd Do Anything", was hosted by Graham Norton with Andrew Lloyd Webber again overseeing the programme,[3] together with theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh. In January 2008, John Barrowman confirmed he would be taking part in the show.[4] The BBC also confirmed in late February 2008 that Barry Humphries would join Barrowman and Denise Van Outen (who was previously the presenter of the US Broadway reality show ) on the judging panel of the show.[5] [6]
Auditions for the show began in January 2008,[7] with the show airing on BBC One throughout March, April and May 2008. In the final, on 31 May, Jodie Prenger was announced as the winner of the series.
Commissioned after the success of the two similar BBC series How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do, the series followed the same format to find a new unknown lead, but with two roles rather than one as in the previous two series. However, whilst the format for the Nancy was the same with the public choosing the winner, the three boys who would play the part of Oliver were chosen by the judging panel.
Auditions took place in 2008; in Belfast on 24 January, Manchester on 26–27 January, London from 1 to 3 February and Glasgow on 6 February with auditions for both parts taking place at the same venues and dates.[8]
The first programme, which aired on 15 March, charted the journeys of thousands of auditionees as they begin their quest for stardom in the regional auditions.[2]
For the role of Nancy, just over a hundred young women were called to London to perform before the panel, consisting of John Barrowman, Denise Van Outen and David Grindrod. Those who stood out then had the chance to win a place at Nancy School, the next stage in the competition. For the role of Oliver, 50 young boys were selected to work with musical theatre experts before the final twelve were chosen for the live shows by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh.[2]
The second programme, which aired on 22 March, focussed mainly on the 42 women at Nancy School and the procedure of finding the final twelve women to compete in the weekly live show for the part of Nancy. The twelve boys who would compete on the live show for the part of Oliver were also introduced throughout the programme.
Footage of the Olivers' progress is shown, during which Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh select one to proceed through to the semi-final.
Twelve potential Nancys made it through the audition rounds and performed during the live shows.[10] [11] Each Nancy wore a unique coloured dress and a locket. At the end of every live show, the losing Nancy would have the locket stripped off by the Nancy who survived the singoff. In the final, on 31 May 2008, Jodie Prenger was announced as the winner.
| Finalist | Age * | From | Dress Colour | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amy Booth-Steel[12] | 24 | Birmingham | Lime Green | Eliminated 1st in week 1 |
| Cleopatra "Cleo" Royer[13] | 22 | London | Lilac | Eliminated 2nd in week 2 |
| Tara Bethan[14] [15] | 24 | Conwy | Orange | Eliminated 3rd in week 3 |
| Francesca Jackson[16] | 24 | West Glamorgan | Baby Pink | Eliminated 4th in week 4 |
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson[17] | 23 | London | Gold | Eliminated 5th in week 5 |
| Sarah Lark[18] | 25 | Glamorgan | Pale Green | Eliminated 6th in week 6 |
| Ashley J Russell[19] | 24 | Falkirk | Dark Blue | Eliminated 7th in week 7 |
| Niamh Perry[20] | 17 | Bangor, Northern Ireland | Pink | Eliminated 8th in week 8 |
| Rachel Tucker[21] | 26 | Belfast | Yellow | Eliminated 9th in week 9 |
| Samantha Barks[22] | 17 | Laxey, Isle of Man | Blue | 3rd Place (Eliminated in week 10) |
| Jessie Buckley[23] | 18 | Killarney, Ireland | Dark Green | Runner-up |
| Jodie Prenger[24] [25] | 28 | Blackpool | Purple | Winner |
Twelve potential Olivers made it through the audition rounds and performed in the live shows.[26] [27] Each Oliver was identified with a different coloured scarf, and during the first eight live shows, the Oliver who did best in the mission for that week made it through to the final eight. This Oliver would also receive a hat, and lead vocals in a performance with all the Olivers on the live show. Ultimately, Gwion Jones, Harry Stott and Laurence Jeffcoate were announced as the three winning Olivers in week nine on 24 May.[28] [29]
| Finalist | Age * | From | Scarf Colour | Lead Vocal | Reached | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gareth Borrow | 12 | Derry | Pink | N/A | Final 12 | Eliminated in Week 8 | |
| Jordan Li-Smith | 13 | Wrexham | Red | N/A | Final 12 | Eliminated in Week 8 | |
| Joseph McNamara | 9 | Berkshire | Yellow | N/A | Final 12 | Eliminated in Week 8 | |
| Sam Cotton | 10 | Hampshire | Dark Blue | N/A | Final 12 | Eliminated in Week 8 | |
| Chester McKee | 12 | London | Dark Red | Week 2 | Final 8 | Eliminated in Week 9 | |
| Arthur Byrne | 10 | Bristol | Purple | Week 3 | Final 8 | Eliminated in Week 9 | |
| Kwayedza Kureya | 13 | Kent | Light Blue | Week 4 | Final 8 | Eliminated in Week 9 | |
| Alexander Hockaday | 11 | London | Dark Orange | Week 5 | Final 8 | Eliminated in Week 9 | |
| Jonny Clowes | 13 | Leamington Spa | Dark Green | Week 8 | Final 8 | Eliminated in Week 9 | |
| Gwion Jones | 11 | Carmarthenshire | Light Green | Week 1 | Top 3 | Winner | |
| Harry Stott | 12 | Oxfordshire | Orange | Week 6 | Top 3 | Winner | |
| Laurence Jeffcoate | 11 | Cheshire | Beige | Week 7 | Top 3 | Winner |
| - | Contestant was in the bottom two and who was saved after the sing off | |
| - | Contestant was eliminated after the sing off | |
| - | Contestant who received the most public votes |
| Contestant | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Quarter Final | Semi Final | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jodie Prenger | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner (week 10) |
| Jessie Buckley | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-up (week 10) |
| Samantha Barks | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 4th | 3rd Place (week 10) |
| Rachel Tucker | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 7th | Safe | 4th | 3rd | Eliminated (week 9) |
| Niamh Perry | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 7th | Safe | 5th | 5th | Eliminated (week 8) | |
| Ashley J Russell | Safe | Safe | Safe | 9th | Safe | Safe | 6th | Eliminated (week 7) | ||
| Sarah Lark | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 6th | Eliminated (week 6) | |||
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson | Safe | 11th | 10th | Safe | 8th | Eliminated (week 5) | ||||
| Francesca Jackson | 11th | Safe | Safe | 8th | Eliminated (week 4) | |||||
| Tara Bethan | Safe | Safe | 9th | Eliminated (week 3) | ||||||
| Cleo Royer | Safe | 10th | Eliminated (week 2) | |||||||
| Amy Booth-Steel | 12th | Eliminated (week 1) | ||||||||
Gwion Jones was announced as the first Oliver semi-finalist on the Saturday show.
The show performances and missions were:[30]
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jessie Buckley | Pair 1 | 1 | "River Deep - Mountain High" (Tina Turner) | Safe |
| Jodie Prenger | 2 | "Chasing Pavements" (Adele) | Safe | |
| Tara Bethan | Pair 2 | 3 | "Suddenly I See" (KT Tunstall) | Safe |
| Ashley J Russell | 4 | "Black Velvet" (Alannah Myles) | Safe | |
| Amy Booth-Steel | Pair 3 | 5 | "Respect" (Aretha Franklin) | Bottom two |
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson | 6 | "Mad About the Boy" (Dinah Washington) | Safe | |
| Francesca Jackson | Pair 4 | 7 | "Hero" (Mariah Carey) | Bottom two |
| Rachel Tucker | 8 | "About You Now" (Sugababes) | Safe | |
| Samantha Barks | Pair 5 | 9 | "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts) | Safe |
| Sarah Lark | 10 | "Get Here" (Oleta Adams) | Safe | |
| Cleo Royer | Pair 6 | 11 | "Who Knew" (Pink) | Safe |
| Niamh Perry | 12 | "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (Cat Stevens) | Safe |
Sing-off:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Amy Booth-Steel | "Tell Me on a Sunday" [31] | Eliminated |
| Francesca Jackson | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
Chester McKee was announced as the second Oliver semi-finalist on the Saturday show.[32]
The show performances and missions were:[30]
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niamh Perry | Pair 1 | 1 | "I've Got the Music in Me" (The Kiki Dee Band) | Safe |
| Cleo Royer | 2 | "Feeling Good" (Nina Simone) | Bottom two | |
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson | Pair 2 | 3 | "Get the Party Started" (Pink) | Bottom two |
| Samantha Barks | 4 | "See the Day" (Dee C. Lee) | Safe | |
| Francesca Jackson | Solo Performance | 5 | "Somebody to Love" (Queen) | Safe |
| Rachel Tucker | Pair 3 | 6 | "Beautiful" (Christina Aguilera) | Safe |
| Sarah Lark | 7 | "Piece of My Heart" (Erma Franklin) | Safe | |
| Tara Bethan | Pair 4 | 8 | "Without You" (Harry Nilsson) | Safe |
| Jodie Prenger | 9 | "I'm Every Woman" (Chaka Khan) | Safe | |
| Ashley J Russell | Pair 5 | 10 | "Mercy" (Duffy) | Safe |
| Jessie Buckley | 11 | "Killing Me Softly with His Song" (Roberta Flack) | Safe |
Sing-off:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Cleo Royer | "I Know Him So Well" from Chess[33] | Eliminated |
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
Arthur Byrne was announced as the third Oliver semi-finalist on the Saturday show.
The show performances and missions were:[30]
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Musical/Film | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rachel Tucker | Pair 1 | 1 | "Oh, What a Night" (The Four Seasons) | Jersey Boys | Safe |
| Sarah Lark | 2 | "Maybe This Time" (Liza Minnelli) | Cabaret | Safe | |
| Francesca Jackson | Pair 2 | 3 | "(I've Had) The Time of My Life"(Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes) | Dirty Dancing | Safe |
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson | 4 | "The Lady Is a Tramp"(Ella Fitzgerald) | Babes in Arms | Bottom two | |
| Ashley J Russell | Pair 3 | 5 | "The Winner Takes It All"(ABBA) | Mamma Mia! | Safe |
| Jodie Prenger | 6 | "Send in the Clowns"(Judy Collins) | A Little Night Music | Safe | |
| Niamh Perry | Pair 4 | 7 | "Moon River" (Audrey Hepburn) | Breakfast at Tiffany's | Safe |
| Jessie Buckley | 8 | "One Night Only" (Jennifer Hudson) | Dreamgirls | Safe | |
| Tara Bethan | Pair 5 | 9 | "Let's Hear It for the Boy" (Deniece Williams) | Footloose | Bottom two |
| Samantha Barks | 10 | "Somewhere" (Barbra Streisand) | West Side Story | Safe | |
Sing-off:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson | "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Tara Bethan | Eliminated |
Kwayedza Kureya was announced as the fourth Oliver semi-finalist on the Saturday show.
The show performances and missions were:[30]
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Vegas Legend | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jodie Prenger | Pair 1 | 1 | "9 to 5" | Dolly Parton | Safe |
| Samantha Barks | 2 | "Hurt" | Christina Aguilera | Safe | |
| Ashley J Russell | Pair 2 | 3 | "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" | Whitney Houston | Bottom two |
| Niamh Perry | 4 | "Wind Beneath My Wings" | Bette Midler | Safe | |
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson | Solo Performance | 5 | "My Heart Will Go On" | Celine Dion | Safe |
| Jessie Buckley | Pair 3 | 6 | "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" | Diana Ross | Safe |
| Sarah Lark | 7 | "Midnight Train to Georgia" | Gladys Knight | Safe | |
| Francesca Jackson | Pair 4 | 8 | "What's Love Got to Do with It" | Tina Turner | Bottom two |
| Rachel Tucker | 9 | "The Way We Were" | Barbra Streisand | Safe | |
Sing-off:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Ashley J Russell | "Whistle Down The Wind" | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Francesca Jackson | Eliminated |
Alexander Hockaday was announced as the fifth Oliver semi-finalist on the Saturday show.
The show performances and missions were:[30]
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niamh Perry | Pair 1 | 1 | "Valerie" (Amy Winehouse) | Bottom two |
| Rachel Tucker | 2 | "I'm with You" (Avril Lavigne) | Safe | |
| Jessie Buckley | Pair 2 | 3 | "Stop!" (Sam Brown) | Safe |
| Sarah Lark | 4 | "Ironic" (Alanis Morissette) | Safe | |
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson | Pair 3 | 5 | "I'm Outta Love" (Anastacia) | Bottom two |
| Ashley J Russell | 6 | "Evergreen" (from A Star Is Born) | Safe | |
| Samantha Barks | Pair 4 | 7 | "Since U Been Gone" (Kelly Clarkson) | Safe |
| Jodie Prenger | 8 | "I Have Nothing" (Whitney Houston) | Safe | |
Sing-off:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Niamh Perry | "The Rose" | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Keisha Amponsa-Banson | Eliminated |
Notes:
Harry Stott was announced as the sixth Oliver semi-finalist on the Saturday show. The Olivers voted to choose one Nancy to perform with them on the Results Show and chose Sarah. Andrew Lloyd Webber worked with each of the Nancys in the week before the show to improve their performance, focusing on their acting abilities. He also gave each Nancy a "master class" to learn the sing-off song.
The show performances and missions were:[30]
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jodie Prenger | Pair 1 | 1 | "Luck Be a Lady" (from Guys and Dolls") | Safe |
| Sarah Lark | 2 | "Mr. Bojangles" (Sammy Davis Jr.) | Bottom two | |
| Rachel Tucker | Pair 2 | 3 | "For Once in My Life" (Stevie Wonder) | Bottom two |
| Samantha Barks | 4 | "Sway" (Dean Martin) | Safe | |
| Niamh Perry | Solo Performance | 5 | "They Can't Take That Away from Me" (from Shall We Dance) | Safe |
| Jessie Buckley | Pair 3 | 6 | "The Man that Got Away" (Judy Garland) | Safe |
| Ashley J Russell | 7 | "Big Spender" (from Sweet Charity) | Safe | |
Sing-off:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Sarah Lark | "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from Sunset Boulevard | Eliminated |
| Rachel Tucker | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
Notes:
Laurence Jeffcoate was announced as the seventh Oliver semi-finalist on the Saturday show. The Olivers voted to choose one Nancy to perform with them on the Results Show and chose Niamh. During the week Lloyd Webber took the Nancys to the O2 Arena to see Celine Dion in concert.
The show performances and missions were:[30]
| Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessie Buckley | 1 | "Fighter" (Christina Aguilera) | Safe |
| Niamh Perry | 2 | "True Colours" (Cyndi Lauper) | Bottom two |
| Ashley J Russell | 3 | "I Say a Little Prayer" (Dionne Warwick) | Bottom two |
| Samantha Barks | 4 | "Survivor" (Destiny's Child) | Safe |
| Jodie Prenger | 5 | "If I Ain't Got You" (Alicia Keys) | Safe |
| Rachel Tucker | 6 | "You've Got a Friend" (Carole King) | Safe |
Sing-off:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Niamh Perry | "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from Evita | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Ashley J Russell | Eliminated |
Notes:
Week eight was the quarter-final stage of the series. Jonny Clowes was announced as the eighth and last Oliver semi-finalist on the Saturday show with Gareth Borrow, Jordan Li-Smith, Joseph McNamara and Sam Cotton leaving after the Saturday show.
The Nancys were joined by five of the finalists from Any Dream Will Do - Daniel Boys, Lewis Bradley, Ben James-Ellis, Keith Jack and Rob McVeigh to perform a group number. They were paired up: Rachel and Daniel; Jodie and Lewis; Jessie and Rob; Samantha and Ben; Niamh and Keith.
The show performances and missions were:[30]
| Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jodie Prenger | 1 | "Holding Out for a Hero" (Bonnie Tyler) | Safe |
| Rachel Tucker | 2 | "I Will Always Love You" (Dolly Parton) | Bottom two |
| Samantha Barks | 3 | "Defying Gravity" (from Wicked) | Safe |
| Jessie Buckley | 4 | "How Do I Live" (LeAnn Rimes) | Safe |
| Niamh Perry | 5 | "Don't Speak" (No Doubt) | Bottom two |
Sing-off:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Rachel Tucker | "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" from Evita | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Niamh Perry | Eliminated |
Notes:
Week nine was the semi-final stage of the series. On 23 May the BBC announced that Cameron Mackintosh would be joining the panel for the semi-final to give his opinion on the four remaining Nancys and to announce, with Lloyd Webber, which three boys they chose as Oliver and that he would also be on the panel for the Grand-final.[41] The four Nancys also appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show on Channel 4 singing "Oom-Pah-Pah".[42]
Gwion Jones, Harry Stott and Laurence Jeffcoate were announced as the three winning Olivers on the Saturday show with Lloyd Webber saying, "Cameron and I agree we have three very different Olivers, but I think it's a great result and I think whichever Oliver you go and see you're going to get a fantastic performance." And Mackintosh adding, "The talent we have unearthed has been terrific."[28]
Cameron Mackintosh confirmed that Rowan Atkinson will be performing the part of Fagin in the stage show. The four remaining Nancys were divided into pairs, The Northern Nancys and the Celtic Nancys for two group performances.
The show performances and missions were:[30]
| Order | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rachel Tucker | 1 | "Cabaret" (from Cabaret) | Bottom two | |
| Jessie Buckley | 2 | "What I Did for Love" (from A Chorus Line) | Safe | |
| Samantha Barks | 3 | "When You Believe" (from The Prince of Egypt) | Bottom two | |
| Jodie Prenger | 4 | "Out Here on My Own" (Irene Cara) | Safe |
Sing-off:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Rachel Tucker | "Memory" from Cats | Eliminated |
| Samantha Barks | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
Notes:
In the week following the show, it was claimed that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh had fallen out over Lloyd Webber's decision to eliminate Rachel Tucker who Mackintosh had wanted to see in the final. Lloyd Webber said, "The fact is Cameron wanted Rachel to stay. He wanted Rachel and Samantha in the final from the beginning of the series. Rachel did a fantastic performance but I had to face up to the fact that she wouldn't have gone any further. What I may think professionally is sometimes different from what the public want. I saved Rachel three times and she still ended up in the bottom two."[44]
In the week the semi-final aired, the four semi-finalists did a photoshoot for Now magazine recreating some of Madonna's iconic images. Jodie posed in a wedding dress to recreate the cover of the album Like a Virgin; Jessie copied a pose, wearing a black dress, from the music video for the song Like a Prayer, Samantha was dressed in hotpants copying the pose from the cover of the 2008 album, Hard Candy and Rachel posed in a cowboy hat, recreating the cover of the album Music.
Week ten was the final week of the show and the Grand-final when the winning Nancy was revealed. Both shows aired live on Saturday with the main show starting at 6:00pm and the Results show at 8:45pm. The finalists were Jessie Buckley, Jodie Prenger and Samantha Barks.
On 30 May, Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that Cameron Mackintosh was concerned about Jodie Prenger's "curvaceous figure" saying, "Cameron thinks she is a bit too big and has more or less said so". However, Webber defended Prenger, saying that she had both the vocal talents and personality for the role, saying "Jodie could be anybody's idea of Nancy - I can see it absolutely. She has got a lovely voice and a super personality. She has experience as well."[45]
Also on 30 May, the BBC announced how voting would work in the final. With all the decisions now being from the public vote, the voting lines opened at the start of Show One. At the end of Show One, the finalist with the lowest number of viewers votes, Samantha was eliminated and therefore finished third. The voting lines then re-opened to vote for the series winner, with all the votes cast for the remaining two Nancys carried over. Then in Show Two the final two Nancys went head-to-head before the winner was announced as Jodie.[46]
The three finalists were taken to Paris in the week leading up to the show. In London they met and had a "Master Class" with Liza Minnelli. All twelve Nancy finalists and all twelve Oliver finalists also performed. Lee Mead also performed on Show One. In Show two both Jessie and Jodie performed Nancy's love ballad "As Long as He Needs Me".
The show performances were:[30]
| Order | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jodie Prenger | 1 | "Son of a Preacher Man" | Safe | |
| Samantha Barks | 2 | "Anyone Who Had a Heart" | Third place [47] | |
| Jessie Buckley | 3 | "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" | Safe |
| Order | Song | Order | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jodie Prenger | 1 | "As Long as He Needs Me" | 3 | "I Have Nothing" | Winner | |
| Jessie Buckley | 2 | "As Long as He Needs Me" | 4 | "The Man That Got Away" | Runner-Up |
The final vote was then announced and it was revealed that the winner was Jodie Prenger with Andrew Lloyd Webber saying, "The people's Nancy. Jodie was always going to be the people's choice." Cameron Mackintosh added, 'I'm thrilled for Jodie, congratulations!'[48]
In March 2008, the BBC drew criticism from American actor, Kevin Spacey, the artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre Company for airing shows such as I'd Do Anything and Any Dream Will Do which he claimed were distorting the theatre market in favour of musicals instead of straight plays.[49] Spacey said, "I felt that was essentially a 13-week promotion for a musical - where's our 13-week programme?" and that he thought the BBC's talent shows were "crossing the line" and "unfair". The BBC responded that it "always reflected" other West End shows in its talent programmes. Adding that the shows were not unduly promotional and that the shows "celebrate musical theatre generally, not just one West End show". They also pointed out that the BBC had no commercial interest in the West End productions of Oliver!, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat or The Sound of Music.[50]
Spacey's comments were criticised by Simon Cowell who stated, "It sounds like Russia in the Sixties, that mentality. I don't think that applies to the modern world. What the BBC does is very good for the West End because it reminds millions of people what the West End is all about – they're going to sell a lot of tickets off the back of that."[49]
On 31 May 2008 it was revealed that the show regularly received over 6 million viewers.[51] The first programme of the series which aired on 15 March, before the first live shows two weeks later, was watched by 5.5 million viewers, 24.2% of the total audience, in what the Entertainment and Media website Digital Spy described as "a weak debut".[52]
After the week five shows it was revealed that the Saturday show was watched by 5.6 million viewers, 27% of the total audience, which although 0.5 million down on the previous week, was still 200,000 above the slot average. This was slightly ahead of the third episode of All Star Mr & Mrs, on ITV1 which had 5.2 million viewers (25.2%).[53]
The final shows on 31 May were shown on the same night as the finals of the second series of Britain's Got Talent on ITV1 although the shows did not clash directly apart from a short period toward the end of the first show of I'd Do Anything. The total number of viewers for both shows was given as 20 million.[51]
Ratings taken from BARB.
| Show | Date | Official rating (millions) | BBC1 weekly ranking | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auditions 1 | 15 March 2008 | 5.66 | 9 | 24.2%[54] | |
| Auditions 2 | 22 March 2008 | 5.75 | 11 | 24.7%[55] | |
| Live Show 1 | 29 March 2008 | 6.36 | 11 | 27.9%[56] | |
| Results 1 | 30 March 2008 | 5.67 | 14 | 24.0%[57] | |
| Live Show 2 | 5 April 2008 | 6.97 | 8 | 30.3%[58] | |
| Results 2 | 6 April 2008 | 6.51 | 10 | 26.7%[59] | |
| Live Show 3 | 12 April 2008 | 5.57 | 10 | 22.7%[60] | |
| Results 3 | 13 April 2008 | 6.07 | 8 | 26.0%[61] | |
| Live Show 4 | 19 April 2008 | 6.34 | 11 | 27.1%[62] | |
| Results 4 | 20 April 2008 | 5.41 | 16 | 22.8%[63] | |
| Live Show 5 | 26 April 2008 | 5.92 | 10 | 27.5%[64] | |
| Results 5 | 27 April 2008 | 5.75 | 11 | 24.0%[65] | |
| Live Show 6 | 3 May 2008 | 5.59 | 13 | 27.6%[66] | |
| Results 6 | 4 May 2008 | 5.40 | 17 | 26.3%[67] | |
| Live Show 7 | 10 May 2008 | 5.37 | 15 | 27.0%[68] | |
| Results 7 | 11 May 2008 | 6.15 | 10 | 30.0%[69] | |
| Live Show 8 | 17 May 2008 | 6.13 | 13 | 25.8%[70] | |
| Results 8 | 18 May 2008 | 6.66 | 9 | 30.4%[71] | |
| Live Show 9 | 24 May 2008 | 5.27 | 12 | 29.9%[72] | |
| Results 9 | 25 May 2008 | 6.41 | 7 | 30.7%[73] | |
| The Final | 31 May 2008 | 5.46 | 10 | 32.3%[74] | |
| Final Results | 7.18 | 4 | 31.0% | ||
| Average | 6.03 | 27.2% | |||
Lloyd Webber next returned to BBC screens in 2010 with a similar series, Over the Rainbow, a search to find a new Dorothy for The Wizard of Oz, produced by his company, The Really Useful Group.