Prenger: 'I was mortified by weight jibes'

I'd Do Anything winner Jodie Prenger has admitted that she was "mortified" by claims that she was "too big" for the role of Oliver!'s Nancy.

The 29-year-old feared that she would lose out in the show's final after Andrew Lloyd Webber went public with fears held by the musical's producer Cameron Mackintosh.

Prenger had dropped from a size 22 to a size 14 before plucking up the courage to try out for West End roles.

Writing in her new book It's A Fine Life: My Story, Prenger explained: "I desperately hoped the winner would be me. Yet my confidence had been knocked. The day before the final, Andrew Lloyd Webber had revealed to a newspaper that Cameron Mackintosh thought I was a bit 'too big'.

"When I read that, I was mortified. For years, I had battled with my weight. I was now a size 14, the average size for a woman, yet I was still being criticised. It really upset me and I started to think I might be out of the running."

Prenger went on to win I'd Do Anything, triumphing over Jessie Buckley in the show's final. She made her debut in Oliver! in January.