Role as Sound of Music’s Maria is dream for Danielle

SHE was the girl who came from nowhere to convince Andrew Lloyd Webber she’d be the ideal Dorothy in Wizard of Oz and Danielle Hope is pretty good as Maria Von Trapp, too!

The super-enthusiastic 22-year-old won BBC talent show Over The Rainbow to become Sir Andrew’s lead star, and since then, she’s also had success as Eponine in Les Miserables and the narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

But nothing can compare with getting to emulate her lifelong heroine, Julie Andrews, and phone her biggest hero, Michael Crawford, for advice.

“Starring alongside Michael in Wizard of Oz, we just seemed to click,” says Danielle.

“In fact, I genuinely feel like he is actually a part of my family now, we are that close.

“To be honest, I wasn’t that aware of Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em and other things he’d done, but I know all about them now and he’s a wonderful, talented, really lovely friend.

“I got a little break either side of Christmas, and spent both times in Chicago, where I was able to enjoy the city and study the script for The Sound Of Music, and I was really excited to prepare for it.

“Julie Andrews played Maria in the film, of course, and she is my all-time heroine.

“In my childhood, Mary Poppins was the greatest thing I’d ever seen.

“The Sound Of Music is right up there, too, and I have taken the inspiration for my diction, for my life, in fact, from Julie Andrews. In Les Mis, I also had Julie in my mind. I learned so much from watching her.

“I think The Sound Of Music will last forever, as they do say nothing that comes from the truth is boring.

“It’s simple, the music’s beautiful, it was a scary, dangerous time in the world.

“Michael and I were talking about it, how to find new things in it, and he was helpful as ever.

“I cherish our friendship! In fact, I watched something with him the other night, Hello Dolly, and just cried, thinking: ‘This is my friend!’

“If I can achieve a fraction of what he has done . . .

“You could never do half the stunts he did in Some Mothers, as Health and Safety would be after you. It was one of a kind.”

Danielle’s late gran would have loved to see her lass reach these dizzy heights. It was she who used to tell Danielle as they watched TV shows: “You could do this.”

Her granddaughter wasn’t so sure, but thankfully Danielle’s big break came before her beloved gran passed away.

“She was 96, and waiting for me to get a tour,” Danielle recalls. “When I got one, she was in a wheelchair and had never been to London, so it was amazing to have her at the Palladium.

“My dad and sister brought her down and she finally got to see me in a big show.

“I always have her with me, and if there is something bad happening, I remind myself: ‘No, come on, Grandma would love to see you doing this.’”

At her age, and with her popularity, Danielle is proving more mature than her years.

She says quite openly that she only has the chance to explore all kinds of roles because she has no mortgage, no home, nothing to hold her down!

“It’s true, and at some point real life must begin and I stop living in neverland!” she laughs. “From what I hear, it is hard enough to rent, never mind buy.

“I have had an ambition to live and work in New York, and at some point I want to go and do that. But while I’m in my early 20s, I can enjoy this freedom.

“The other thing is that I am still getting to see all the British places I had never visited, by touring all over the UK.

“I’m also aware it’s very expensive for lots of people to come to London for a theatre show.

“There are plenty people up north and elsewhere who want to see the shows! When I played Manchester Palais with Joseph, for instance, that was the venue where I’d seen shows as a kid.

“I was like the local girl, and it was an incredible atmosphere.

“To bring theatre to people, rather than them having to travel to London, is great, too.

“People like Michael Crawford and Julie Andrews inspired my life, and I’d love to have that effect, too.”

For full dates of The Sound of Music tour, see the website.