I'd Do Anything: Francesca is out!

Francesca Jackson has become the latest hopeful to hang up her Nancy necklace on BBC1's I'd Do Anything .

The Welsh-born 24-year-old got the boot after Andrew Lloyd Webber opted to save fellow performer Ashley, who also found herself in the sing-off this week.

Once again Lloyd Webber – who this week appeared live from Las Vegas – said he had an impossible decision to make.

"Both of them sang wonderfully, and it was an extraordinary sing-off," he told the pair after they had performed Whistle Down The Wind. "This is the toughest call I've ever had and I really mean this.

However thinking about everything and weighing up everything the panel have said, I'm going to save Ashley."

He told a tearful Francesca that he thought she had a “fantastic” career ahead of her.

"I'm gutted about this because you performed beautifully," he said, "but I do feel it's going to be the beginning of a long road for you. You're a great girl and I'm sorry to have to do it."

Both Francesca and Ashley had received a mixed response from the judges on Saturday night's show, which was devoted to the music of legendary female singers who have performed in Las Vegas.

John Barrowman praised Francesca for her performance of Tina Turner's What's Love Got To Do With It, saying she had a "rough edge". But Denise Van Outen wasn't so sure. "You are a glamorous performer, and I don't think you can lose that – that's not Nancy," she told her.

And Andrew Lloyd Webber was unsure about Ashley's rendition of Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody. "I felt the performance only went from A to A, with a few bumpy notes," he said. "Sorry, I just don't rate your voice."

However Barry Humphries called her "brave and strong. I warmed to you very much last week, and I continue to do so."

There was plenty of praise for the other hopefuls, with Niamh picking up plaudits for her performance of Wind Beneath My Wings and Sarah receiving raves for her rendition of Midnight Train To Georgia.

"If I was sitting in the West End audience tonight, I would give you a standing ovation," Denise told her.

Rachel was also a hit with the judges, with John calling her version of The Way We Were "the performance of the night".

Eight hopefuls now remain to battle it out for the chance to star as Nancy in the new West End production of Oliver!