Monday 2nd June
I'd Do Anything winner Jodie Prenger has hit out at claims she's 'too fat' to play Nancy.
Jodie, 28, beat 19-year-old Jessie Buckley in the final of the BBC's talent search on Saturday night to play the role of tart-with-a-heart Nancy in the revamped stage production of Oliver! in London's West End.
But Jodie was quick to respond to comments made by theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh that she was too fat for the physically demanding role.
In an interview with The Mirror, Jodie - who won Living TV's Biggest Loser by slimming from 20st to nine - said: "I'm a size 14, an average woman. Nowt special. Whatever size you are, it doesn't matter as long as you're healthy and happy.
"But I've been through it - I've been size 26 and gone through turmoil. But I don't want to make a huge issue out of it. That's what upsets women."
Jodie knows she has a lot to prove to Cameron - and she's looking forward to it.
She said: "I'll fight to prove to Cameron that I can be his Nancy and that I will give him the best Nancy he has ever seen."
But Jodie is adamant that the £100,000 deal to play Nancy in the West End won't change her as a person.
She said: "I love my bargains and I'll have to buy a new pair of shoes but they won't be Jimmy Choos. I'll be going through the sale racks as I've always done."
