Conleth, who is enjoying a four week break from the Beauty And The Beast, contacted the ‘MAIL’ this week to generate a bit of support for his pal, Rachel, who’s reached the final five in the BBC talent show ‘I’d Do Anything’.

He told the ‘MAIL’: “Rachel is a great friend of mine and played Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz' with me at Christmas in the Lyric Theatre.

“After the Wizard of Oz I was with Rachel at her second Nancy audition at the BBC in London and I knew she was going to make the final 12 because she was just amazing, and I was sitting beside the panel and knew for a fact they were blown away."

He added: “The reason I am behind Rachel so much is because what separates her from the other four finalists is that I know how hard she has worked from she was a child.

“I worked with her when I was younger on an Irish tour but we became really close at Christmas doing the show at the Lyric.”

Conleth said: “She has been performing from no-age and has went to Drama School and has waited her whole life for this moment.”

26-year-old Rachel goes into the quarter finals of the talent show this Saturday at 7.45pm.