My Fair Lady. According to the Sun today. Below is the original article published in July.
THE BBC is planning to follow up its Any Dream Will Do talent hunt with a search for My Fair Ladys Eliza Doolittle. And despite his theatre commitments, impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber is being lined up to star in the show.The programme is the front-runner of at least three ideas being discussed by BBC bosses, who are also considering casting versions of Saturday Night Fever and Jesus Christ Superstar. My Fair Lady, which was written 50 years ago, was last put on as a touring production in 2006 when Emmerdale babe Amy Nuttall played Eliza.
Insiders say TV execs prefer it to the other options as it would be a hunt for a female star. One said: The first show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? looked for a female star, then Any Dream Will Do found a male lead as Joseph. It makes sense to alternate each year.
The danger with doing two male-lead hunts on the trot is you may end up with many of the same lads who tried out for Joseph.
Getting Andrew Lloyd Webber involved will be a coup for the BBC, as he hinted he planned to concentrate on theatre work next year.
After Joseph finished he said he wanted a break from British TV, despite the show attracting more than seven million viewers.
He plans to write a sequel to The Phantom Of The Opera and may also work on a telly hunt for Jesus Christ Superstar in the US.