TWO of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s proteges will share the stage at the Cliffs Pavilion on Sunday.

Southend singer Lee Mead will be welcoming fellow BBC talent show contestant Niamh Perry to join him at the Westcliff theatre.

Niamh, who finished fifth in 2008’s I’d Do Anything, will sing two duets with 2007 Any Dream Will Do winner Lee, and perform three of her own songs at the concert.

The 19-year-old, from Northern Ireland, was studying music, theatre studies and sociology at A-Level when auditions for the programme began.

She decided to leave school early and moved to London to take part in the compeition. She made it to the final 12 girls, who competed for the coveted role of Nancy in the West End revival of the musical Oliver!

After eight weeks in the programme, in which she received praise from judges John Barrowman, Denise Van Outen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Niamh was eliminated.

She decided to return to school to complete her exams, but it wasn’t long before she returned to the stage. She made her professional debut as the lead character Belle in the musical Only the Brave, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in 2008.

Niamh now appears in Phantom of the Opera sequel, Love Never Dies, at London’s Adelphi Theatre, playing Fleck, a half-bird, half-woman.

Niamh lost out to Jodie Prenger in the I’d Do Anything competiton.