AS A 13-year-old, Manchester girl Danielle Hope sat in her grandmothers house watching the reality television talent show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? which documented the search for an undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2006 Andrew Lloyd Webber stage production of The Sound of Music.
Back then, recognising her young talent, Danielle's grandmother turned to her and said "You could do that".
Although she had always dreamed of a career on stage, Danielle admits she still can't believe she beat 9,000 other girls to win the 2010 series of Over the Rainbow, a similar show, to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium.
Since then she has starred in the West End production of Les Miserables and played the narrator in the UK tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Now she is following in the footsteps of the first TV show winner Connie Fisher in playing the role of Maria in a new Bill Kenwright touring production of The Sound of Music which visits Belfast next week.
"It's magical to play a role that Julie Andrews has played, as she is one of my heroes," 23-year-old Danielle says. "It's so challenging and so rewarding, I'm having the best time ever."
Also based on Baroness Maria von Trapp’s 1949 autobiography, this lavish new staging tells the true story of the world-famous singing family, from their romantic beginnings and search for happiness, to their thrilling escape to freedom as their beloved Austria becomes part of the Third Reich at the start of the First World War.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the famous film, which won five Oscars. So how does Danielle account for its enduring success? "It enthrals children and adults alike and its meaning grows as you get older. Obviously the story has been romanticised for the film and stage but at the core is the fact this happened to a real family at a very dangerous time in the world.
"It was amazing these people had such joy, hope and optimism during this time and achieved this through singing. Music has an amazing power to connect everybody and anybody and that's why I love music myself.
"Our set is very grand but also very simple. There are no fake mounds of grass being wheeled on or anything getting in the way of the story. There is a beautiful hand-painted backdrop of the mountains and greenery which lets you use your imagination to see the hills," says Danielle, who has never visited Northern Ireland before.
The score, by Rodgers and Hammerstein, features some of the most memorable songs ever performed on stage, including My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi, Climb Ev’ry Mountain and Edelweiss. "My favourite one to perform is Do-Re-Mi because it's the first time the children start to connect with Maria. There are lots of little scenes within the song and you really get a window into their relationship," explains Danielle.
With an American boyfriend and having recorded her album, Bring the Future Faster, in America and having performed solo gigs in New York, Danielle is eyeing up a future in Broadway. "It's always been a dream, but it seems more doable now. I will have a good go."
As for future roles, long-term she wants to add Mary Poppins to the list as well as the mum in Gary Barlow's new musical Finding Neverland and being the voice of a Disney Princess. "It's been my six-year-old dream and has never died," laughs the talented, yet grounded performer, whose advice to others hoping to follow in her footsteps is be true to yourself.
"Don't underestimate the amount of work and determination that it will take. It doesn't get any easier; it's always scary. But if you really, really want to do this you absolutely must, and remember why you started."
:: The Sound of Music runs at Belfast's Grand Opera House from August 4 to 15. Goh.co.uk.
