Talented Jordan Li-Smith, 13, from Wrexham, has made a shortlist of hopefuls hoping to land the role of orphaned urchin Oliver Twist in the forthcoming West End revival of the musical Oliver!

On Saturday night viewers watched budding star Jordan receive the news that he could play the plucky orphan in the West End.

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh, plus a panel of judges, will hand pick three of the 12 young proteges to play the lead role over different nights.

The 12 hopefuls will be seen each week performing musical tasks and learning the tricks of the theatre trade, before the judging panel make their final choices.

The BBC have decided not to put the boys through the viewer voting process and Sir Andrew will instead make the final decision on the child actors.

Jordan, a pupil at The Hammond School, Chester, is also competing against a handful of young Welsh singing stars of the future in the final of the 'Can You Sing?' competition at the Wales Millenium Centre on April 5.

Julia Edwards, development manager at The Hammond School, said: "We are delighted with Jordan's success so far and we wish him all the best in the competition. He shows great potential for the future."

The role of Nancy will also be filled and a dozen young women, whose ages range from 17 to 28, are competing to be that character.

They include a mixture of trained actresses and singers plus novice stage performers, hoping to win over the panel and public.

They will face the public vote for the first time in next Saturday's show, hosted by Graham Norton on BBC One.

Over 10,000 people turned up to open auditions for the roles of Oliver and Nancy in Lionel Bart's classic musical and Jordan is the only representative from Wrexham.

The BBC have asked families involved in the competition not to give interviews.

According to the BBC, Jordan is a Chelsea supporter and a big fan of Ant and Dec.

The corporation's website adds: "Apart from becoming Oliver, when he's older Jordan has his sights set on the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables (which is also his favourite musical) because he loves the character and music so much."

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