Where are the Dorothys from Over The Rainbow now?

With all this talk of Oz and Wicked being available to watch at home this week, let’s turn our attention to Dorothy!

Over The Rainbow – one of many collaborations between the BBC and Andrew Lloyd Webber – saw musical theatre hopefuls compete for the part of Dorothy Gale in Lloyd Webber’s 2011 stage production of The Wizard of Oz. There was also a contest to find a canine to play Toto!

Danielle Hope claimed the ruby slippers and went on to play Dorothy at The London Palladium. But, what did she and her co-stars do after flying away on the glittering moon?

Amy Diamond

Diamond shines bright as a professional singer based in London, having previously performed in shows like Hair and Dreamboats and Petticoats.

Bronté Barbé seized the day and has carried the banner as Katherine Plumber in Newsies, been one-half of Kathy and Stella’s Murder Podcast, and played Carole King in Beautiful. A regular fixture on stage, Barbé has also appeared in Shrek, Ride, Striking 12, The Wild Party and What’s New Pussycat?.

Emilie Fleming

Up and down the country Fleming has appeared in productions including The Sound of Music, Oliver! and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Stephanie Davis

The soap star is perhaps best known for her role as Sinead O’Connor in Hollyoaks or Courtney Vance in Coronation Street. In 2016 she was crowned runner-up of Celebrity Big Brother. 

Jessica Daley

This wannabe Dorothy has since performed in titles including Les Misérables and Mamma Mia!. Notably, she led an international tour of Evita, before reprising the role with little notice to save the day following cast illness at a 2024 revival at Curve in Leicester. You may have seen Daley touring in the new musical I Should Be So Lucky, celebrating a White Christmas, or as Billy Elliot’s mum.

Stephanie Fearon

From Oz to Greece! Fearon too found herself in the West End production of Mamma Mia!. She also played Diamond in the workshop of Spice Girls musical Viva Forever, and appeared in productions of Rent and A Chorus Line.

Lauren Samuels

Samuels has played Wendy in Peter Pan, Jules in Bend it like Beckham, Cathy in The Last Five Years, Scaramouche in We Will Rock You, and most recently, Elphaba in Wicked! She is currently defying gravity on a US national tour.

Sophie Evans

A steady fixture in the Wizard of Oz cannon, Evans became the alternate Dorothy in the Palladium production before taking on the role full-time. Following that, she played Glinda in the West End production of Wicked.

Danielle Hope

After winning the competition and making her West End debut in The Wizard of Oz, Hope followed the yellow brick road and found herself playing Eponine in Les Misérables. Since, she has appeared in another Lloyd Webber musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as well as The Last Five Years, Grease, Rock of Ages and most recently an off-Broadway staging of Kinky Boots.