URMSTON’S singining sensation Danielle Hope is one step closer to walking the yellow brick road after making it through to the semi-final of a TV talent show.

The 18-year-old is now competing against just three girls for the coveted role of Dorothy in a new West End production of The Wizard of Oz, after Jenny and Jessica were eliminated from the BBC1 show Over the Rainbow this weekend.

Danielle’s performance of the Les Miserables hit On My Own on Saturday night was well received by the judges and the public, and the teen easily avoided being knocked out of the competition on Saturday.

But the Knutsford High School student and former Highfield Primary pupil was less popular with the public on Sunday when she found herself in the sing-off with Jessica after the pair received the fewest public votes.

The pair sang Take That Look Off Your Face from Tell Me On A Sunday in a bid to stay in the contest and Danielle was saved by Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who said both girls were “really terrific”, but he had to think of the role of Dorothy when deciding who to choose.

Lord Lloyd-Webber was slightly critical of Danielle after her performance on Saturday and said she needed to learn how to disguise the break in her voice.

Welsh star Charlotte Church was also critical.

She told Danielle that she had really enjoyed the very “emotive performance” but said although her mid-register notes were “gorgeous” her top notes could get “a little bit shouty”.

Sheila Hancock agreed with Charlotte that it hadn’t been one of Danielle’s best performances. but she was full of praise for the teenager and compared her to the Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta Jones as she said they both had a similar “star quality”.

“I thought today perhaps you were less good than you have been, but as you are normally absolutely fabulous it was still very very very good,” she said.

Eastenders actor John Partridge said: “Danielle you have real grace and sensibility that I think would be wonderful for Dorothy.

“The energy just flows from you off the stage and into the auditorium and that’s what being a great performer is all about.

“You are a better actress than you are a singer, but what you lack in vocal range you make up for in story telling.”