Starring role no problem for Helena

Helena Blackman doesn't seem to have many problems to solve these days. The singer and actress is living her dream starring in the classical musical South Pacific which opens at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre tonight.

The runner-up to Connie Fisher in BBC's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? plays Nellie Forbrush, a naive Navy nurse from Little Rock, Arkansas, who falls in love with French plantation owner Emile de Becque, played by Dave Willetts, during her wartime posting to a Pacific island.

It's the latest of many roles for the young actress since making it to the finals of the first in a line of shows searching for people to take on leading roles in West End productions, in her case, The Sound of Music.

"I'd heard about the auditions for the TV show and I wasn't doing anything that Sunday so I thought I'd go along. I didn't think I had anything to lose," she said.

In the event, it was a Sunday well spent.

Helena, who was already a trained singer and actress, was selected for the TV series and spent eight weeks in it.

The 25-year-old did not win but she says she has no regrets.

"I was thrilled to be in the show and I think I handled myself very well," said the runner-up.

"I'm pleased to have been in that final and be where I am now."

Since leaving the show she has taken a number of roles on stage.

Helena has recently finished playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre and also performed as a soloist in The Night of a Thousand Voices at The Royal Albert Hall.

Now she is touring in the wartime musical South Pacific, which runs at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre all this week.

"I love musical theatre and I'm so pleased to be starring in South Pacific," she said.

"Every job is a highlight of my career, but I've always wanted to headline.

*South Pacific starts at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre tonight and runs until Saturday, April 5. Tickets (01902) 429212.