Susanna Reid has revealed that she was once turned down by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber after auditioning for one of his musicals.
The Good Morning Britain presenter nearly had a very different career as she had her sights set on becoming a West End star before turning her hand to journalism and presenting.
While interviewing the musical theatre impresario on Tuesday morning, the 46-year-old admitted that she’d auditioned for the part of Maria in the Sound of Music over a decade ago.
“When you were looking for a Maria in The Sound Of Music, you gave me a very useful piece of advice,” she said.
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“If I wanted to sing professionally, I’d need two years tuition.”
Rather awkwardly, Lord Webber didn’t seem to remember coming across Reid during the audition process.
“Yes, I auditioned for you. But the good Lord (Webber) said there are non-singing parts available,” Reid added.
Lord Webber went on to say that he’d turned down people in the past who had gone to become stars, including Rihanna.
After hearing her sing in a bar in Barbados when she was an unknown, the West End mogul contemplated bringing her back to London with him.
“This was about 12 years ago," he said. “I remember talking to my friend about her and we both just thought 'Wow, she's very good.'”
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"But I thought, if we brought her back to the UK, it'd be the same as a holiday present… it seems great at the time but when you get home it's not the same."
“I don't think about what I lost out in terms of money there - but let's put it this way, that is not something I am proud of.”