Coaching Nancys

We talk to Donna the performance coach

We caught up with performance coach Donna Soto-Morettini for a quick chat in the week leading up to the quarter-finals

How does it feel to be so close to the final?

'It feels very strange to be down to five girls. I keep walking into the room and thinking 'oh my word, where is everybody?' and then you realise that this is it.'

The girls all seem to get on so well, but has the atmosphere changed, now that we are down to the final five?

'I would have expected that by now the competition was getting a little steelier, but that doesn't seem to be the way things are going. I don't think the girls are feeling any extra competition with each other, because they've never really been like that. They don't really compete with each other, just themselves.'

'They feel they have to compete with what they did last week if it was good, or raise their game if their previous performance wasn't great. They're actually very supportive of each other and despite being such different characters they all share the same core values, which is interesting.

'They all know what each of them is going through and they try to support each other through that. They're still very easy around one another and given the choice they will always sit together during lunch and breaks in rehearsals.'

Are you still seeing improvement in the girls each week?

'They're working as hard as the always do. A lot of them have never had any professional training before. It's great because they're so hungry to learn. All of the girls have come on such a long way with their acting. You reach a point when you don't think you'll be surprised and then they do something that you just weren't expecting. It's nice, I like surprises.'

With such a short time before the final, do you think the Nancys are now ready to take on a professional role?

'The vast majority of professionals working in the West End have very small parts that they've rehearsed for a long time. These girls have two days to rehearse and learn a live show that goes out to the nation with the added pressure of being scrutinised and judged, every Saturday night. There are a lot of things left for them to learn technically and they're young so their voices are still growing, but I already consider all of them to be professionals.'