I wouldn't judge Stephanie too harshly on this. Andrew's so fricking unpredictable and some of the stuff he comes out with is plain weird. She made a (slightly fake) effort to be civil. I think that's quite good going given that she was about to be judged and must have been pretty nervous.

On a not very related note (as an illustration of how random Andrew can be) during the final of IDA Graham asked Andrew what he was looking for from Lee's performance. Andrew starts jabbering on about "tempi". As if the vast majority of his audience had the slightest notion what he meant.

I think it's sometimes possible to read too much into something that isn't the main criterion for winning this show.

I'm still undecided about who I'd like to see be Dorothy, BUT we went to see "Wicked" yesterday evening and it really does focus your mind on what is needed from the Dorothy who wins. You suddenly get the point about a huge theatre and what is necessary to carry the lead role - even allowing for the fact that Dorothy is obviously a very different role from the two female leads in "Wicked".

So I'm not really bothered about how the girls come across except in their stage performances and I have to say at this stage I can see Stephanie on stage in the West End more easily than I can any of the others, except perhaps Steph.

Hope that helps! P.S. - Rachel Tucker has one hell of a pair of lungs on her and Lee Mead ..... was played by his understudy! boo hoo.

One thing I loved about Stephanie tonight was that she immediately sought Emilie's hand to console her when the judges were harsh about her performance. It looked natural and spontaneous.

Although being a nice person is also irrelevant to whether or not she'd make a good Dorothy, it did make me warm to her.

I saw that too , with out a fanfair she reached out to her ,.

Was it Lewis bradley ? How did he do ? I loved him on Joseph .

I have known Stephanie for the majority of my life, we have grown up together.
I can honestly say that what you see on screen is exactly what she is like in person, she loves musical theatre and everything about it that comes across on screen.

Go for it Steph were all behind you!

The cream is beginning to rise to the top - and Stephanie is right up there.

Spidermonkey - if you know her personally, please tell her to ditch the red lipstick.

Hi Abba, yes it was Lewis Bradley - I didn't watch ADWD so knew nothing about him. He certainly looked the part when he was with Glenda - all blonde and "Prince Charming"ish and his acting was fine but I did notice in one duet he seemed to go really high, like a soprano, and I winced a bit - maybe just a problem with his mic or the accoustics or maybe he just aimed too high, I dunno! I'm not a musical expert at all. But he seemed to fit in well with the role otherwise.

I couldn't stand him, easily the least talented from all four series. Seriously I'd rather watch Emilie Fleming.

Thank you ! I really liked him on Joseph , he was young and cried alot but I still thought he had great talent .Thanks for the report , glad he is getting on well .
He was in the last three with Lee Mead in Joseph

We are all entitled to our opinions but he certainely wasnt the least talented in my opinion , nor in ALWs

As I've mentioned before on here I'm much better at judging talent on these shows than ALW.

Was he the bandy-legged blonde? I'm afraid that after Daniel Boys was cruelly ejected (get over it, peeve) I only had eyes for Lee Mead, so I've conveniently forgotten most of the others.

But they were clearly a talented bunch, because I understand most have been in regular employment since. Nice to see that it is employment in the West End and not just panto and end-of-pier shows.

But Lewis' work has mostly been as Lee Mead's understudy while Daniel had the leading role in Avenue Q for over two yesr. Ben who also got punted for Lewis, spent nearly two years in Hairspray too.

Yeah she's a naturally pretty girl in the interview segments but the excessive make up for the performances really doesn't do her any favours.

I do wonder if Stephanie can ditch the Liverpool accent, more than the lisp. We could have a Dorothy with a lisp, but scouse - I don't think so!

was i watching the same stephanie as the judges ? ..... she tried way too hard with the dancing, it looked forced at times and jerky, not smooth and sexy!. and I know she cant help the shape and size of her mouth, but a softer lipstick would totally help. Stephanie is good, I not as good as she thinks sometimes, last weeks was much better

Not a moment after telling us of your personal acquaintance with Stephanie you start backing another contestant!!

I haven't seen this level of treachery since I abandoned Danielle for Stephanie.

As someone who has PERSONALLY met Stephanie for about four seconds, I can also verify that she is just like on screen.

I like to think that in my own special way I am single-handedly responsible for all of Stephanie's success on this show. If only I had also wished Emilie's dad good luck as we washed our hands in silent contemplation in the portakabin toilets, the course of history might have run differently.

It's very much a Gavrilo Princip kind of thing.

NB don't worry, I haven't abandoned Danielle. Where the wallet leads, the heart will follow.

Ps on the thread topic: Jeez Lousie!

She is a bubbly girl and a musical theatre geek and she was brimming over with enthusiasm at a theatrical anecdote delivered by Andrew bleedin' Lloyd Webber.

I say death by lethal injection would be an "overreaction" to such behaviour.

But that is subjective to me.

Ok, she's not Shakira, but it was very spunky stuff.

I thought she filled the stage effortlessly and I could easily see her sparkling across one of the larger theatres in the west end high-fiving the scarecrow and keeping the lion in line.

Stephanie comes across as very guileless, and that is the essence of Dorothy imho.

Its not only what you have to do but how you have to do it. A lot of the big female solo songs tend be done holding the stage and audience on your own. At the moment the trend looks to be to make it even harder by acting more than they may have in the past on top and moving around a lot too. Even more, in shows like Les Mis and Chicago they seem to be making more use of the front of the stage so quite literally you are feet away of the audience with an awful lot to do grabbing the whole audience, singing, acting and moving at the whole time. If you are Aoife Mulholland you get to skip at teh same time too. Its nothing like performing one line from a song in a big safe group or singing something thats got no heavy acting attached.

I didn't think Lee had started yet. According to http://westendunderstudies.com/Site/By_Show.html
"The role of FIYERO will be played by Lewis Bradley from Monday 29th March to Saturday 8th May 2010. Lee Mead will begin performances Monday 10th May 2010"

Lousie? Who's she?

Blimey, I just said it made me wince. I never said it was life or death or that it meant I would or wouldn't vote for her, it made me wince, end of!

Point taken, Ms Louse.

*runs off*

I can't run fast but I've got a good throwing arm....

She's a 'Scouse' and all 'Scouses' are streetwise and she knew exactly the right thing to say