Over The Rainbow winner Danielle Hope says Andrew Lloyd Webber wasn't 'as scary' as she thought he would be

By Mail Online Showbiz Reporter

Not so scary: Over The Rainbow winner Danielle Hope says Andrew Lloyd Webber wasn't as intimidating as she thought he would be


Over the Rainbow winner Danielle Hope says Andrew Lloyd Webber was not nearly as scary as she imagined him to be.

The 18-year-old, from Urmston in Greater Manchester, was crowned the winner of BBC1's popular talent show last Saturday.

She told Hello! magazine that while Lord Lloyd Webber - who sat on the judging panel - may seem intimidating, she felt at ease as soon as she met him.

She said: 'As soon as he shook my hand I just relaxed. I was like "Oh, you're not this scary person".'

The young musical star also said she will be moving into a central London flat on her own, and added she quickly matured after her parents split up when she was 11.

She said: 'It really made me grow up. The independence that I had to maintain and embody was the making of me now.

'I'm really grateful for that.'

Her boyfriend, fellow drama student Taylor Danson, will remain in Manchester when she moves.


Close contest: Hope went head-to-head with Sophie Evans in the final


Winner: Hope with the judging panel Lord Lloyd Webber, Sheila Hancock, Charlotte Church, John Partridge and Graham Norton


Read the full interview in Hello! out now


She added: 'I haven't really been able to see him properly for the past five months and I think if we've been all right through that then it will be fine when I've moved to London.

'Obviously any relationship is going to be tested when you're in a really stressful situation but you know I'm only 18, I'm just living life as it goes along and seeing what happens.'

If she had not won, Hope would have been auditioning for drama schools, she added.

But she was worried about the financial risks.

'Even if I'd got into drama school, the fees can be £13,000 a year, so unless I got a scholarship, I wouldn't have been able to afford to go,' she said.

From next March, Hope will lead the cast of Lord Lloyd Webber's new West End production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium, having captured the voting public's imagination.

Before signing up for the show she was a full-time student in Knutsford, Cheshire, with dreams of becoming a performer.


source: dailymail