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. Siobhan as squeaky clean cheerleader Patty In Grease. Image courtesy of Grease

Alice Eaton catches up with the How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? runner-up turned West End starlet Siobhan Dillon

SIOBHAN Dillon seems to have gone into hiding. At least, she isn't answering any of my calls and I am beginning to wonder if her new found-success has turned the north London lass into something of a diva - too busy to speak to the press. But all doubts quickly evaporate when I do finally manage to catch her. She is profuse with apologies, has been trying to find a spare moment to call me back but just hasn't found the time.

Since appearing on the hit BBC reality show, the 23-year-old's life has changed beyond all recognition. The show saw Siobhan pitting her singing skills against thousands of hopefuls, and the other nine talents that made it to the finals, as they took it in turns to battle for the ultimate prize - a starring role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's revival of The Sound of Music. Despite missing out on the top spot and settling for third place in the competition, she has not looked back since, quickly landing the role of squeaky-clean cheerleader Patty Simcox in Grease where she is making her West End debut. In fact, it was Grease producer David Ian, a judge on Maria, who helped her get the part. Still in the first glow of her recent telly success and wondering what her next move should be, Siobhan decided to text David to find out when they were casting. He passed on her number to the casting director and, just two days later, she found herself auditioning to be in the musical.

By the end of the week, she had got the part, as well as being understudy for the role of Marty and, more importantly, of Sandy and she is regularly selected to play the lead.

"I am very lucky as I am being broken in gently," says Siobhan, who lives in Highbury.

"Playing Patty is physically tiring as there is a lot of dancing, whereas Sandy is all about acting and singing which is great for me as I get to practise the musical theatre side of my singing but don't have the pressure of doing it every night.

"When I do play Sandy, people often come up to me thinking I am Susan McFadden winner of Grease Is the Word and are a little disappointed to discover I'm not Brian McFadden's sister. I can understand that people are expecting to see the person they voted for so I just say I hope they enjoyed the show."

For Siobhan, treading the boards is a life-long dream finally realised.

Siobhan as Patty and Tim Newman as Eugene

"For some reason, I always knew that I would end up being a singer," says Siobhan.

"Everyone was telling me I would be and I guess when you are young, you just believe what people say. I had a few singing lessons when I was ten but by the time I got to my A-levels it wasn't looking very likely and I decided to study fashion. At the time it seemed a far less precarious career than the performing arts."

It was only one evening, when she was watching X Factor with an ex-boyfriend, that Siobhan made the decision to turn her life around.

"I would always say how much I wanted to do that and, in the end, he said to me: Why don't you stop talking about it, get off your backside and just do it,' and I did."

Siobhan had overwhelming support from family and friends who watched her every week despite being in a different country.

"I have a large family and every summer we go to the same place in the south of France with about 15 other families.

"My parents would often fly back for the weekly show and apparently, all the families would take over an English bar with Sky every Saturday night to watch me. It was bizarre thinking they were all over there gathered around a TV shouting me on. It made me even more determined to succeed."

Although she failed to reach the final round, she has only positive feelings towards the show.

"I enjoyed every second of it," she enthuses. "There was nothing about it that I don't look back on with fond memories. Every single lesson I learnt was all in my favour. It gave me a crash course in performing which made up for not having gone to performing arts school. Not getting through I saw as the beginning, not the end. It made me realise that, if I could get that far and have people at that level believe in me, perhaps I could do it."

And she is quick to defend the booming popularity of this genre of reality TV shows.

"Some people in the industry were a little sceptical to begin with, but everyone in Grease thinks it is great, and some of them are even thinking of trying out for the roles of Oliver and Nancy in the follow-up show I'd Do Anything for the musical Oliver! I think if you can stand on the stage and do the part, no one can criticise you."

And she has come out with far more than a proven determination to succeed, forming some lasting friendships, in particular with Maria winner Connie Fisher.

"Connie and I are best friends. In fact, we spent new year together. As a Christmas present, she treated us both to a stay in a beauty spa and I couldn't think of a better way I wanted to see in 2008.

"We are actually very similar. We both want to be glamorous and elegant but we are actually a bit boisterous and geeky. When the other singers in the house were sitting in their dressing gowns drinking wine together, we would be up in the bedroom practising songs."

So what was it like when the hopeful Marias were eliminated one by one?

"We all got on with each other and worked so closely together that it was really strange when one of us was voted off. On the Monday, you really miss their presence and the whole balance in the house would change but by the evening we would be laughing and getting on fine again. It just shows the pressure of it all, the fact we were able to forget about them so quickly and move on. It was such a surreal experience."

Siobhan can now count no less than Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber as one of her firmest supporters and he has even called her up to see if she is free for dinner.

"He has invited myself, Connie and some of the other guys out for a meal which is great as it really shows that he actually cares. I love that guy. He's amazing."

So with a West End career well on the road to success and Andrew Lloyd Webber a confirmed fan, have all her dreams come true?

"One of them has," she laughs. "Perhaps I am a little greedy as I have quite a few. My contract with Grease ends in June and I have decided I want to start designing my own accessories this year. I am also putting together an album which I hope to release at some point. After that, who knows?"

And with that, and more profuse apologies, she is called away to her next engagement.

For tickets to Grease, call the box office on 0844 412 6666 or visit www.greasethemusical.co.uk. See page 43 for our review of Grease.

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