Sheila Hancock, Graham Norton, Andrew Lloyd Webber, et al. Set for BBC’s Over the Rainbow

Charlotte Church, John Partridge, and Sheila Hancock will join Andrew Lloyd Webber on the new BBC reality series which will search for an actress to play Dorothy in a new West End production of The Wizard of Oz, according to published reports. The trio of artists are replacing John Barrowman and Denise Van Outen, who were judges on I’d Do Anything, which searched for an actress to play Nancy in a revival of Oliver!

Graham Norton will host the show, entitled Over the Rainbow. It is is scheduled to air on Saturday evenings in the spring, with a specific schedule to be announced at a later date.

Church is a recording artist whose albums include Voice of an Angel, Dream a Dream, Enchantment, and Tissues and Issues. Partridge is perhaps best known for his work on the television series EastEnders, and has stage credits which include the recent West End production of The Drowsy Chaperone. Hancock won an Olivier Award for her performance in the 2007 revival of Cabaret and is currently starring in the West End production of Sister Act.