Kim BriscoeA Norwich teenager's hopes of starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical have been dashed after she failed to make it into the finals of the BBC's Over the Rainbow show.Kim Briscoe

A Norwich teenager's hopes of starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical have been dashed after she failed to make it into the finals of the BBC's Over the Rainbow show.

Tegan Edwards, from Thorpe Hamlet, had been hoping to secure the 'wild card' slot in the contest to win the coveted role of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz after failing to get picked as one of the 10 girls to go through to the next stage of the competition.

But the 17-year-old, who was a member of the Norfolk Youth Music Theatre based in Sheringham, learned her fate in Saturday night's live show, with the winning vote going to 19-year-old Emilie Fleming, from Tyne and Wear.

The television programme is aiming to find an actress for the lead role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage production of The Wizard of Oz.

Her mother Kim Edwards said that while Tegan was disappointed not to have made it through to the finals, she had learnt a lot from the experience and knew that she would have to face rejection if she wanted to get into the industry.

She said: 'I'm really proud of her and of the way she has coped with it all.

'That's the business she wants to get into and that's what it is like - you have to learn to take rejection.

'Not many people get the chance to do what she has done and she will take everything from it that she possibly can and that will hopefully help her in the future.'

Tegan, who was a member of the Norfolk Youth Music Theatre based in Sheringham, developed a passion for singing at the age of six, when she was at Horsford First School and joined the school choir.

She said the television contest's signature song, Over The Rainbow, meant a lot to her as she sang it at her audition for Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, where she won a place to study musical theatre scholarship.

The former Thorpe House School pupil hopes to go to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where her older brother Bart, 21, is currently studying acting.

Do you have story for the Evening News? Contact reporter Kim Briscoe on 01603 772419 or email kim.briscoe@archant.co.uk.