Rachel Tucker

Rachel Kelly Tucker (born 29 May 1981) is a Northern Irish West End and Broadway actress, best known for her portrayal of Elphaba in the hit musical Wicked.

She also starred in Come from Away on Broadway, having originated the role on the West End.

Rachel has starred in various other musicals and plays, including one alongside Sting (The Last Ship).

Tucker was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up singing on the cabaret circuit from the age of nine with her father, Tommy (Tucker) Kelly and sister Margaret Kelly under the group's name Tucker Kelly and the Kelstar.

She was a member of the Arts Youth Theatre during the late 1990s featuring in shows such as Ecstasy and Our Day Out.

She then went on to feature in Michael Poyner's version of the Rockin Mikado as Katisha.

In 2001, she competed in the Irish version of Popstars, featuring prominently in episode 3 where she is featured singing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".

Her contestant number was B0161.

She also featured as a contestant with sister Margaret on Michael Barrymore's My Kind of Music singing "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!".

She also competed in the talent show Star for a Night making the final with her performance of "Kids".

Tucker trained at the Royal Academy of Music.

She worked with Any Dream Will Do winner Lee Mead in the 2005 United Kingdom tour of the Rock musical, Tommy as Sally Simpson.

Tucker recorded a version of the civil rights anthem "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around" which was used in a television advertisement for Libresse in 2005 entitled "March".

In December 2007, Tucker appeared as Dorothy Gale in the Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation of The Wizard of Oz at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.

The Stage described her performance as "looking and sounding uncannily like the legendary Garland".

For her performance, she was nominated for an award in the 2008 TMA Awards.

Tucker was chosen as one of the twelve finalists on the show in which began in March 2008, appearing each week in the live show on Saturday evenings and the results shows which aired each Sunday.

She made it to the semi-finals in week nine where she was eliminated on 25 May.

In week six, she was in the bottom two with Sarah Lark, with Tucker having received the lowest number of viewers votes.

In the results show on 4 May 2008, they sang "As If We Never Said Goodbye", from the musical Sunset Boulevard.

Andrew Lloyd Webber chose to save Tucker and eliminate Lark, saying: "I have to think as a producer and I do think Rachel was rock solid."

Tucker was once again in the bottom two in week eight, the quarter-final stage of the series.

She was in the sing-off for a second time, this time with Niamh Perry, with Perry having received the lowest number of viewers votes.

They sang "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" from the musical Evita.

Lloyd Webber chose to save Tucker and eliminate Perry.

At the semi-final stage, week nine, Tucker was in the bottom two for a third time, together with Samantha Barks, who had received the lowest number of viewers votes.

They sang "Memory" from the musical Cats.

Cameron Mackintosh joined the judging panel for this episode.

Lloyd Webber chose to save Barks and eliminate Tucker saying: "Last night Cameron and I were both saying that we thought both of you would be fantastic Nancys and now here am I faced with this. But I've got to make a decision and I've got to think of where the show ultimately for Cameron is going to go and I think I have to go with you Samantha. A week after the show, Lloyd Webber said: "The fact is Cameron wanted Rachel to stay.

He wanted Rachel and Samantha in the final from the beginning of the series.

Rachel did a fantastic performance but I had to face up to the fact that she wouldn't have gone any further.

What I may think professionally is sometimes different to what the public want.

I saved Rachel three times and she still ended up in the bottom two."

In July 2008, Tucker took part in a private workshop performance of the first act of the sequel to The Phantom of The Opera (Love Never Dies) at Andrew Lloyd Webber's private Sydmonton Festival near his estate in Hampshire, in which she sang the role of Meg Giry.

On 2 August 2008, in Belfast, she performed at the Gay Pride Festival.

She sang a medley which included excerpts from Cabaret, "All That Jazz", "Maybe This Time" and "Don't Rain on My Parade".

On 13 September 2008, she performed alongside fellow I'd Do Anything finalist Niamh Perry at the Proms in the Park, held at Belfast City Hall as part of the nationwide celebration of the BBC Last Night of the Proms.

The following day, she performed at Andrew Lloyd Webber's Birthday in the Park' show in Hyde Park, London, singing "Light at the End of The Tunnel" from Starlight Express.

In November 2008, Tucker filmed a West End special of The Weakest Link in which she was voted off first.

The show was aired on BBC1 during the 2008 Christmas schedule.