IT was a very public audition and, when Sarah Middleton failed to reach the final stages of BBC show Over the Rainbow, she did so in front of an audience of millions.

The 22-year-old had beaten thousands of hopefuls to make the final cut of 20 actresses hoping to win the part of Dorothy in a West End production of The Wizard of Oz.

And she was within a few weeks of landing a part which could have sealed her career as a performer.

But at the next culling of the numbers, the former Derby High School pupil was unsuccessful.

Given the size of the stage she was on at the time, it might have been a bitter blow for many young actresses.

But, now, nearly two years on, she says she was philosophical at the way things turned out.

She said: "I didn't make it to the final 10 but it was an eye-opening experience. Obviously it was hard to deal with at the time.

"But I decided afterwards to return to drama school to complete my training and to reflect on what I'd learned.

"In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't get any further in the process. I've had the chance to do lots of other fun jobs since, and I think the public's choice of Danielle Hope was a pretty good one."

Those fun jobs have included TV work, theatre tours and short films.

But Sarah is now back on stage in her latest role as Wendy in a production of Peter Pan being staged in Crawley.

The work caps a busy couple of years since her time on Over The Rainbow but, even before her appearance on the show, she was already an experienced performer.

She first started acting at the age of seven when she joined Centre Stage Theatre Arts, a local theatre school based in Derby.

James Rayner, principal, said Sarah had always showed talent on stage.

He said: "Sarah showed great promise as a young student and, when I knew that it was something she wanted to do as a career, I had no doubt that she would go far."

Alongside Centre Stage, Sarah was also part of Derby Youth Theatre and later successfully auditioned for the National Youth Theatre and went on to perform at the Soho Theatre, London.

These experiences led to her, finally, after "many months of recalls and an introduction to rejection", securing a place at Birmingham School of Acting.

She said: "During my training I heard through the grapevine that Andrew Lloyd Webber was launching a search for someone to play Dorothy in a new stage version of The Wizard of Oz.

"I wanted the experience of auditioning for something like that so decided to go along to the open auditions – I had no expectation of getting through though."

But she did and she found herself chosen, along with 19 other hopefuls, to appear on the live finals on BBC1.

Despite missing out on the finals, the exposure helped Sarah to put together a run of performance work in the months afterwards.

She was first called to an audition for a BBC film called Toast, a film about the life of chef Nigel Slater. Sarah was cast in the role of Beany.

"It was a short scene but it was really fun and I acted with Freddie Highmore and Ben Aldridge, who are both well established and were invaluable to work with," she said.

Following her graduation from Birmingham School of Acting, Sarah signed with an agent and very quickly started her first job – a new musical for children which began at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry and then went on to tour nationally.

With an acting career starting to blossom, Sarah, boyfriend Adam and dog Scarlet made the move further south and closer to London, which ultimately led to Sarah's latest role in Peter Pan.

The production is being put on by theatre company Qdos at The Hawth, Crawley.

Sarah said: "I was cast as Wendy which was a great job and, of course, involved flying on stage, which I loved, although the harness was quite uncomfortable – it's not glamorous being an actor."

Despite her increasing success, Sarah said she was well aware that, for many performers, Government cuts were making the future look bleak in performing arts.

Derby has already seen a cut of funding to Derby Theatre, with proposed cuts in place for Deda.

Sarah, who said she benefited from arts-funded projects in her early years, said the severity of the cuts was alarming.

She said: "It's an absolute joke – it's ridiculous. Even from my generation alone there are so many people who were involved with, and who were supported by, arts funding through things such as stage schools and performance groups that now work professionally.

"Without these opportunities they wouldn't be where they are today.

"You only have to look at the unemployment rates to see that any opportunity that supports young people will do lasting good from a career point of view".