Siobhan Dillon
Encyclopedia
Siobhan Patricia Dillon is an English actress and singer, who rose to fame when she performed in the British talent show
Talent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...

-themed television series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? was a British television talent series, that was broadcast on Saturday evenings on BBC One between 29 July and 16 September 2006. It documented the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2006 Andrew...

on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

 in 2006. Since then she has starred as Sandy in the musical Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...

at the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

's Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...

 and as Vivienne Kensington in the musical Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde (musical)
Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to...

at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...

 in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

.

Background

Dillon's mother is a drama teacher. Her father is Irish from Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire or Dún Laoire , sometimes anglicised as "Dunleary" , is a suburban seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland, about twelve kilometres south of Dublin city centre. It is the county town of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County and a major port of entry from Great Britain...

. For her tenth birthday Dillon asked her parents for singing lessons, and had vocal training with singing teacher Richard Paul up to the age of 16. Siobhan attended The Friary School
The Friary School
The Friary School is a community secondary school located in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. The school serves about 1,300 students aged 11–18...

 in Lichfield where she performed in shows, but as she did not think she would become a singer, she turned to the fashion world.
She was a member of Lichfield Operatic Society and in October 2001 performed the title song from the musical Whistle Down the Wind
Whistle Down the Wind (musical)
Whistle Down the Wind is a musical based on the 1961 film Whistle Down the Wind with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Jim Steinman, known for his work with Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler.-Stage Premiere:...

as part of the society's show, Whistle Down the West End at The Friary School
The Friary School
The Friary School is a community secondary school located in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. The school serves about 1,300 students aged 11–18...

 Theatre in Lichfield. After Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...

 heard a tape of her singing, he asked her to sing at his charity cricket ball in 2003, where she got a standing ovation. Prior to appearing on How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? Dillon was in the middle of her first year of a BA Hons degree in Product Design and Development for the Fashion Industry, Accessories pathway at Cordwainers College, University of the Arts London
University of the Arts London
The University of the Arts London, formerly known as the London Institute, is a collegiate university comprising six internationally recognised art, design, fashion and media colleges in London, England...

. She also performed in 'Cabaret' in the Floral Pavilion 2009.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

Dillon was 21 years old when she appeared on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 television show, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?. She reached the final of the show and finished in third place behind Helena Blackman
Helena Blackman
Helena Blackman is a British musical theatre actress best known for being the runner-up in the BBC1 Reality TV programme How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?...

 and winner Connie Fisher
Connie Fisher
Connie Fisher is a Welsh actress and singer, who won the BBC One talent contest, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?...

. Despite being one of the favourites during the first round of auditions, Dillon initially did not make the final ten after an illness had affected her vocals during the final stages. However, after finalist Emilie Alford dropped out of the competition, Dillon, being the last person eliminated during the selection process returned to the show and was given the nickname, "Second Chance Maria".

In week one of the live shows Dillon sang the Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...

 hit, "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!
Man! I Feel like a Woman!
"Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" is the seventh single released from Shania Twain's 1997 album Come on Over. It was written by Mutt Lange and Twain. "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!," originally released to North American country radio stations in early 1999, was the opening song on both Twain's Come on Over...

". In week two she sang the Tina Arena
Tina Arena
Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...

 song, "Chains". In the lead up to the third week's show, David Ian
David Ian
David Ian Lane , is a former actor and now a theatre producer who The Stage has called "the most powerful man in UK theatre".-Biography:...

 talked to the girls about fitness and stamina and sent them on a fitness test mission with Olympic Athlete
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

 Iwan Thomas
Iwan Thomas
Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE is a sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 m, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is the current UK record holder at 400 m with a time of 44.36 seconds and is a former European and Commonwealth games champion...

, requiring the Marias to complete an assault course
Assault course
An assault course is a special sort of trail that combines running and exercising. It was more popular in the 1970s than it is now. It is heavily used in military training...

. Dillon completed the course in the fastest time of under two minutes. On the show she sang the Pointer Sisters
Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American pop/R&B recording act from Oakland, California that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Spanning over three decades, their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, disco, jazz, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country and rock.The...

 hit, "Jump!
Jump (for My Love)
"Jump " was the opening track of the Pointer Sisters' 1983 album, Break Out.Released prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics games, the song's video featured footage of athletes competing in track and field events. The song was the second of four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in a row for the sisters...

". Zoe Tyler
Zoe Tyler
Zoë Tyler, is an English voice coach, cruise ship singer, performer and reality television show judge. She is also a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.-Early career:...

 then asked her to sing the final lines from her audition piece, "I Could Have Danced All Night
I Could Have Danced All Night
"I Could Have Danced All Night" is a song from the musical My Fair Lady, with music written by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, published in 1956...

".

In week four she sang "Songbird" by Christine McVie
Christine McVie
Christine McVie is an English rock singer, keyboardist, and songwriter. Her primary fame came as a member of the British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac, though she has also released three solo albums...

, which resulted in her being named the unofficial "Maria of the night". Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...

 chose her to perform "Truly Scrumptious
Truly Scrumptious (song)
"Truly Scrumptious" is a song performed in the 2002/2005 stage musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well as the original, 1968 motion picture. The song was written by Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman. It is about the lead female character, Truly....

" with the children from the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, also known as Chitty the Musical, is a stage musical based on the 1968 film produced by Cubby Broccoli. The music and lyrics were written by Richard and Robert Sherman with book by Jeremy Sams.-Productions:...

. In the fifth week, when there were two live shows, she sang "All That Jazz" from the musical Chicago
Chicago (musical)
Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...

accompanied by six male dancers. Dillon successfully got through to the second live show of the evening but faced the second sing off with Aoife Mulholland
Aoife Mulholland
Aoife Mulholland is an Irish actress and musical theatre performer from Salthill, Galway. Aoife is a successful leading lady in London's West End...

. They sang "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina
Don't Cry for Me, Argentina
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is a song from the 1978 musical Evita with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Sung by the title character Eva Perón, it was titled “It's Only Your Lover Returning” before Rice settled on the eventual name...

" from the musical Evita. Lloyd Webber saved Dillon because he believed she "had the strongest voice which could carry eight shows a week".

In the run-up to the final in week six, the three finalists and Lloyd Webber went to Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

 in Austria and visited some of the locations made famous by The Sound of Music, including Leopoldskron Palace and Nonnberg Abbey
Nonnberg Abbey
Nonnberg Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Salzburg, Austria.It was founded ca. 714 by Saint Rupert of Salzburg and is the oldest women's religious house in the German-speaking world...

, to give the finalists a chance to understand the real Maria von Trapp
Maria von Trapp
Maria Augusta von Trapp , also known as Baroness Maria von Trapp, was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers...

. On the final night she performed two songs, "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "My Favorite Things
My Favorite Things (song)
"My Favorite Things" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.-The Sound of Music version:The song was first introduced by Mary Martin in the original Broadway production, and sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film.In the musical, the lyrics to the song are a...

" from The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...

. She was eliminated during the night's first public vote, which meant she came third overall.

Performances on How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

  • Please note this is a list of her individual performances only
    Show Song
    Week one "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!
    Man! I Feel like a Woman!
    "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" is the seventh single released from Shania Twain's 1997 album Come on Over. It was written by Mutt Lange and Twain. "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!," originally released to North American country radio stations in early 1999, was the opening song on both Twain's Come on Over...

    "
    Week two "Chains"
    Week three "Jump
    Jump (for My Love)
    "Jump " was the opening track of the Pointer Sisters' 1983 album, Break Out.Released prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics games, the song's video featured footage of athletes competing in track and field events. The song was the second of four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in a row for the sisters...

    "
    Week four "Songbird"
    "Truly Scrumptious"
    Truly Scrumptious (song)
    "Truly Scrumptious" is a song performed in the 2002/2005 stage musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well as the original, 1968 motion picture. The song was written by Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman. It is about the lead female character, Truly....

    Week five "All That Jazz"
    Week six (final) "Anyone Who Had a Heart"
    "My Favourite Things
    My Favorite Things (song)
    "My Favorite Things" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.-The Sound of Music version:The song was first introduced by Mary Martin in the original Broadway production, and sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film.In the musical, the lyrics to the song are a...

    " from The Sound of Music
    The Sound of Music
    The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...


Grease

Dillon made her West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 debut in 2007 playing Patty Simcox in the musical Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...

. Her first appearance in the show was on 25 July 2007 at the Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...

 in London. Show producer, David Ian said of Dillon, "I knew that Siobhan was something special when I first saw her for The Sound of Music, and I am very pleased that she will be joining the cast of Grease." On 16 November she performed on the BBC's Children in Need 2007
Children in Need 2007
Children in Need 2007 was a campaign held in the United Kingdom to raise money for Children in Need. It culminated in a live broadcast on BBC One on the evening of Friday 16 November, through to the morning of Saturday 17 November. The broadcast was hosted by Terry Wogan and Fearne Cotton, joined...

 live broadcast as part of the cast of Grease.

Dillon was also the understudy for the characters of Sandy and Marty and played both roles several times during her run in the show. She finished the role on 14 June 2008.

Dillon returned to the production on 25 January 2010 this time taking over the lead role of Sandy from Emma Stevens. She played her final performance on 24 July 2010 and was succeeded by Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow (2010 TV series)
Over the Rainbow is a British television talent series which aired on BBC One from March to May 2010. It documents the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Dorothy in the forthcoming Andrew Lloyd Webber stage production of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and a...

contestant Lauren Samuels
Lauren Samuels
Lauren Samuels is an English singer/actress and was a contestant on the 2010 BBC UK TV series Over the Rainbow. Since appearing on the show she has gone on to appear in West End theatre, including playing the lead role of Sandy in Grease.-Background:Samuels was born Lauren Bonner...

.

Can't Smile Without You

In July 2008 she was cast in the tour of Can't Smile Without You, a new musical based on an original idea by Bill Kenwright
Bill Kenwright
Bill Kenwright CBE is a leading West End theatre producer and film producer.He is also the Chairman of Everton Football Club, an English professional football club from the city of Liverpool....

 and featuring the hit songs of Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...

, alongside Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Lee Hawkes , is an English pop singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. He is best known for his 1991 single "The One and Only", which topped the charts in the UK and reached the Top 10 in the U.S.-Life and career:...

 and I'd Do Anything
I'd Do Anything (BBC TV series)
I'd Do Anything is a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom and broadcast on BBC One. It premièred on 15 March 2008...

 contestant Francesca Jackson
Francesca Jackson
Francesca Jackson is a musical theatre actress. She took part in the Reality television show I'd Do Anything and lost out the role of Nancy to Jodie Prenger.-Background:...

. It opened at the Churchill Theatre
Churchill Theatre
The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, south east London was built by the London Borough of Bromley to designs by its borough architect's department.It is carefully integrated into the central library complex overlooking Church House Gardens and Library Gardens...

, in the London Borough of Bromley
London Borough of Bromley
The London Borough of Bromley is a London borough of south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in the borough is Bromley.-Geography:...

 on 28 August 2008 and toured in England and Scotland until 29 November.

Other work

Dillon won a record deal with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s company the Really Useful Group
Really Useful Group
The Really Useful Group Ltd. is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing...

 (RUG) after How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?. She is said to be writing and recording her first album, although on her Myspace page she is quoted saying, that after Andrew Lloyd Webber announced during one of the live How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? shows that "a major record label" were interested in working with her, she started writing songs for her album and worked with producers and writers but that "due to unfortunate circumstances the album was never released..."

On Christmas Eve 2007 she performed along with Lee Mead
Lee Mead
Lee Stephen Mead is an English musical theatre actor, best known for winning the title role in the 2007 West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat through the BBC reality TV casting show Any Dream Will Do...

 the winner of Any Dream Will Do
Any Dream Will Do (TV series)
Any Dream Will Do, often known as 'Joseph', was a 2007 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. It searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a West End revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.The show...

and Connie Fisher together with other 'Maria' and 'Joseph' finalists in the BBC special festive reunion show "When Joseph met Maria
When Joseph Met Maria
When Joseph Met Maria was a Christmas special featuring several 'Maria' and 'Joseph' finalists from Andrew Lloyd Webber's BBC talent searches How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do, including winners Connie Fisher and Lee Mead. It was aired on BBC One on 24 December 2007 and...

" celebrating both the hit Andrew Lloyd Webber BBC shows.

From late 2009 Dillon took over the role of Sally Bowles in the UK tour of Cabaret from former I'd Do Anything contestant Samantha Barks
Samantha Barks
Samantha Barks is a professional singer and actress who came third in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008.-Background:Samantha was born and brought up on the Isle of Man...

.

Dillon took over the part of Vivienne Kensington from Caroline Keiff
Caroline Keiff
Caroline Keiff is a British theatre performer, best known for her portrayal of Nessarose in Wicked. She was member of the original London cast and performed on the show's opening night of September 27, 2006. She performed in the ensemble and understudied the role of Nessarose. From July 2007, she...

 in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 production of Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde (musical)
Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to...

on 25 October 2010. She therefore became the second How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? finalist to star in the musical, as fellow ex-contestant Aoife Mulholland
Aoife Mulholland
Aoife Mulholland is an Irish actress and musical theatre performer from Salthill, Galway. Aoife is a successful leading lady in London's West End...

was currently playing Brooke Wyndham at the time she took the role.

From 13th January 2012, Dillon will star as Molly in the musical Ghost.

External links

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