Stevie is one of four finalists on ITV’s Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream. In tonight’s final – live from the Novello Theatre in London – they will compete for the leading roles of Sophie and Sky in the Abba-inspired musical Mamma Mia!
The “jukebox musical” was conceived by producer Judy Craymer, who first pitched the idea to Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson back in 1983.
Even though it didn’t open until 1999, it is now one of the world’s most successful shows.
It turns 25 on April 6 – also the 50th anniversary of the supergroup’s Eurovision victory in Brighton.
Stevie considers her favourite Abba song a tribute to her mother Gayle, who died in 2012.
The Glasgow singer said: “I like Dancing Queen to get everyone up at a party, but for meaning and lyrics it’s Thank You For The Music. Because it’s all to do with my relationship with my mum.
“The song has lyrics like, ‘I was a dancer before I could walk’ while my mum says I began to sing long before I could talk. So it’s really, ‘Thank you mum, for the music’.”
She explained: “My love for musical theatre all stems from performing and singing and dancing with my mum in the kitchen, or in the car, or with the family in the living room with my sister. My mum was a good singer, too – she was incredible.”
But she added: “She didn’t want to go on stage. She was confident in front of me but I found out later she was quite shy, which I found baffling because my mum was always the loudest in the room!”
Asked what her mother would make of her success, Stevie said: “My dad Gary said she would have been doing cartwheels by now and I honestly believe that too.” She said winning the hit ITV talent show “would genuinely change so much for me, this is exactly what I went to drama school to train for.
It’s what my family has wanted for me, even without realising it. This is what I have wanted to do since dancing and singing in the kitchen with my mum.”
The other female finalist in tonight’s show is Esme Bowdler, who is battling Stevie for the role of Sophie.
The male finalists are Owen Johnston and Tobias Turley, with the winner playing Sky on stage.
Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream Final, ITV, tonight, 6.30pm
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