91Èȱ¬

Amy's dream is over as she becomes the first contestant to be eliminated from 91Èȱ¬ One's Over The Rainbow.

After a public vote Steph Fearon and Amy Diamond were the least popular Dorothys and Andrew Lloyd Webber decided to save Steph. So Amy is the first Dorothy to leave the competition.

In the live show, all eleven Dorothy finalists performed solo renditions of pop songs to show viewers that they have the singing skill and sheer charisma to carry one of the most challenging roles in musical theatre.

After performing their songs and receiving feedback from Andrew Lloyd Webber and the expert panel of Charlotte Church, Sheila Hancock and John Partridge, the Dorothys faced a nervous wait for viewers to cast their votes.

On Amy's performance John said: "I have to tell you Amy, I championed you – but I feel like you need to come out next time and be a bit less MTV and a bit more West End. More Dorothy, less Diamond."

Charlotte said: "Amy you're really good and have got a really lovely voice, and I wasn't expecting that. You need to straighten out some of the notes a bit... be a bit less R 'n' B."

Sheila added: "You're a fantastic performer and very attractive. I worry that Dorothy is a girl who looks things straight in the eye, and never uses girly-ness. She's got to be very straight, but sometimes you find it difficult to strip that away. I would like to see you do something when you don't fall back on that."

Andrew Lloyd Webber said: "Amy, I think you would be fantastic in Legally Blond."

Steph and Amy gained the least amount of votes, and had to sing a rendition of Whistle Down The Wind from the musical Whistle Down The Wind to survive.

Then it was up to Andrew Lloyd Webber alone to choose which Dorothy should be saved for another week. He said: "this is an extraordinary competition… you two girls are the slight misfits in it, because we are seeking to fill the particular role of Dorothy. In one sense you're both not right for Dorothy… but tonight I have to save Steph. Amy, I genuinely think you're fantastically talented… but you're just not quite right for this role."

On hearing the announcement Amy said: "I'm really gutted, but I've had an amazing time. I did what I came here to do. It shows you can be whoever you are – a model like me, you can be a mum, or work in a bank – you can fulfill your dreams, and I am going to keep pursuing my dreams."

Safe for another week were Stephanie Davis, Lauren Samuels, Danielle Hope, Jessica Robinson, Bronte Barbe, Dani Rayner, Steph Fearon, Emilie Fleming, Jenny Douglas and Sophie Evans The remaining hopefuls will go on to next week's show where they will again perform for the nation who will decide who should be Dorothy in the new West End production of Wizard Of Oz.

Notes to Editors

Dorothy solo performances:

Danielle Hope – Red, Daniel Merriweather
Amy Diamond – Big Girls Don't Cry, Fergie
Lauren Samuels – Run, Leona Lewis
Bronte Barbe – I Can't Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt
Jenny Douglas – So What, Pink
Steph Fearon – I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Michael Jackson
Dani Rayner – Ego, The Saturdays
Sophie Evans – If I Were A Boy, Beyonce
Stephanie Davies – Mama Do, Pixie Lott
Jessica Robinson – Rehab, Amy Winehouse
"Wild card" Emilie Fleming – Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson

Results show:

Opening performance – The Merry Old Land Of Oz, The Wizard Of Oz
Group performance – Musical Theatre & Pop "mash-up" – Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better from Annie Get Your Gun & Broken Heels by Alexandra Burke
Sing-off performance – Whistle Down The Wind from Whistle Down The Wind
Goodbye Song – We Thank You Sweetly / Over The Rainbow

CS