Antony Collins meets a Teesside woman who is now living the West End dreams she had as a young girl

AS a girl growing up in Normanby, Middlesbrough, Jessica Daley, now 23, already knew a life in the spotlight was ahead of her. Dancing for, and entertaining friends and family as a toddler quickly turned into starring roles in school productions at St Gabriel’s Primary.

“There was never really a 'spark' moment for me where I suddenly realised I wanted to be on stage. It’s just always something I’ve done. It’s ingrained in me,” she says.

It was at Middlesbrough Youth Theatre where the dreams of starring on a bigger stage really began to develop. But could a young girl from Teesside really make West End dreams come true? "I think this is one of the best areas in the country for training people and preparing people. This is not an overly privileged place. People here work hard for what they have, and because of that people latch on to someone’s talent and really help them develop it and support them more. Middlesbrough Youth Theatre really prepared me and gave me so much confidence”.

Jessica’s first big taste of the spotlight came from a brief appearance on ITV’s Stars in their Eyes: Kids at the age of 13, while a student at St Peter’s Academy, where she performed as Natalie Imbruglia in front of the nation. However, it was on another television show where her stock really began to rise. She made it on to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 2010 BBC series Over the Rainbow in which the theatre legend searched for an undiscovered talent to play Dorothy in a new stage production of The Wizard of Oz. She was known as Jessica Robinson then (the name change became a necessity to avoid confusion with successful actress and impressionist Jess Robinson ) and was in her second year of Performing Arts at Stockton Riverside College.

Although she missed out on the final, it was another incredibly valuable experience and opened new doors for her, including a scholarship to Arts Educational School in London.

In retrospect, how does she feel about the entire reality TV phenomenon now? “Those shows really annoy me because I see now how the industry has been affected by them. It gives people a head start which is unfair. But for talented people on Teesside especially, who might not be able to afford recording contracts or to pay for venues to do their own gigs, they can be good. It gives them a platform to showcase themselves on they otherwise wouldn’t have. Like my friend Kerrianne (Kerrianne Covell, X-Factor 2014) for example. She didn’t win, but it gave her a platform to get herself heard and some fabulous exposure. She’s doing so well now. She’s so talented.”

In 2013, that West End debut dream came true for Jessica when, after finishing her time at Arts Ed, she landed a role in a production of Mamma Mia. It ran for a full year at the Novello Theatre on the West End.

This was quickly followed by a nine-month tour across the UK in The Sound of Music during which she understudied the role of Maria and regularly performed in front of thousands.

Yet there was something missing. “This year on tour I’ve learned a lot more about myself and what I want to do and what I want to achieve. I’ve discovered that musical theatre, although I love it, doesn’t completely satisfy me creatively. I grew up with theatre so it’s what I know best. But I want to do it all. I am writing my own music at the minute and getting demos together. I’ve got a great agent who’s getting me auditions for TV projects.”

Jessica is fiercely proud of being from Middlesbrough. A quick scan of her Twitter feed reveals her passion for Middlesbrough FC, her love of a good parmo, and her strong support for the local steel industry. In 2012 she joined BBC Breakfast’s Steph McGovern to back the town’s ultimately unsuccessful bid to achieve city status.

“It’s who I am. I’m never ever going to push away from who I am. I’ve even set myself the enormous task of writing something about Middlesbrough. A play? A song? I don’t know yet. I’m just researching at the minute”.

But has her broad Boro accent ever been an issue down South? “No! Never. And even if it was I wouldn’t care. If anything it’s helped me. People down South know me for being really Northern, and they love it! And I knew one day I’d get the call for the role of the Mother in Billy Elliot. And I have! But I’m too young.”

So what’s next for Jessica Daley? “I just want to enjoy Christmas at home in Middlesbrough for the moment. I can’t predict what’s going to happen next. But I know if I really want to do something and it doesn’t come to me, I have to do something about it. I have to make it happen. And I will.”