Scots talent show winner to make West End debut

Stevie Doc will play Sophie in Mamma Mia! in London's West End

A young drama teacher from Glasgow is set to make her professional debut in London's West End, weeks after winning a TV talent competition.

Stevie Doc won the public vote during the live finale of ITV1 reality show Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream in December.

The 22-year-old will take the lead role of Sophie in the Abba-inspired show at London's Novello Theatre on Monday.

Her on-stage partner, Sky, will be played by fellow talent show winner Tobias Turley, a 22-year-old singing waiter from Somerset.

Ahead of their first performance, Stevie told BBC Scotland's The Edit about her experience on the TV show which was hosted by Zoe Ball and largely filmed in Greece.

Stevie will co-star with Tobias Turley

She was announced as the winner after her performance of Thank You For The Music brought celebrity judges Alan Carr and Jessie Ware to tears.

"I think I blanked out a bit for 15 seconds - my whole brain stopped working," she said of her win.

"The performance was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

"I don’t think I thought at any point, I’m going to win this," she added.

Stevie spoke about what winning meant to her on BBC Scotland's The Edit

The final was filmed in the theatre where Mamma Mia! plays to sell-out audiences eight times a week.

Before she took to the stage, the audience was shown an emotional video about her life back home in Glasgow.

From the age of 13, she lived with her siblings, father and grandmother following the death of her mother.

"If she was watching me in the theatre, you wouldn’t hear me because she’d be screaming the whole time – she was so supportive," she said on the film.

Stevie told The Edit it was "really hard" to listen to before her performance.

"If I thought about it for a second, I wouldn’t have been able to do it," she said.

"I was looking out at the seats during the dress run and I could feel myself getting emotional," Stevie added.

The contestants worked with judges Amber Riley, Alan Carr, Jessie Ware and Samantha Banks

Before going on the show, Stevie was studying musical theatre in London and teaching it to younger people.

She graduated from Arts Educational Schools in 2023.

"I loved teaching, I enjoyed it so much," she said.

Her students got together to watch her final at the theatre school.

"It's nice for them to see I’m now doing what a lot of them want to do," Stevie said.

"If that was me when I was younger and I knew my teacher managed to get to a West End show, I would’ve thought that was so cool," she added.

Stevie with co-star Tobias and the show's host, Zoe Ball

She advises young people wanting to get involved in theatre to seize every opportunity to develop their skills and acquire new ones.

"Don't put yourself in any sort of box, especially the younger ones, if they go I’m not a singer or a dancer," Stevie said.

"As soon as you say that to yourself you’ve put yourself in that box, you’ve made the decision for yourself already.

"I think it's so important that you let yourself have as many opportunities as possible - that’s way better than telling yourself you can’t do something."

Creator and global producer of Mamma Mia! Judy Craymer has seen the development of Stevie and Tobias since the start of their journey.

She said: "It's a joyous result and I'm delighted to welcome Stevie and Tobias to join the West End cast in this very special year celebrating Mamma Mia!'s 25th anniversary.