Jodie is Nancy in Oliver!

After a ten week search for Nancy, 28-year-old Jodie Prenger from Blackpool has triumphed over fellow contestants Jessie Buckley and Samanthan Barks. Final two, Jodie and Jessie, split the judging panel down the middle but it is Prenger who will appear in Oliver! at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane from January 2009.

Agony aunt and cabaret singer, Jodie, won the public vote on the BBC show I’d Do Anything on Saturday night. She was overwhelmed when the result was announced, thanking the public for their confidence in her.

Andrew Lloyd Webber said on Jodie’s win “she is the people's Nancy, Jodie was always going to be the people's choice.' Producer Cameron Mackintosh added, 'I'm thrilled for Jodie, congratulations!'

Jodie will join the three young Olivers who were chosen last week: Gwion Jones (aged 11), Harry Stott (aged 12) and Laurence Jeffcoate (aged 11). Rowan Atkinson has been announced as Fagin, while time will tell who plays Nancy’s abusive boyfriend, Bill Sikes.

Oliver! opens in January 2009 with previews in late December, book you tickets today to see Jodie appear as Nancy in this musical spectacle based on Charles Dicken’s novel.