Last night, Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber chose to give the 17-year-old, who is the youngest contestant on the show and one of two from Northern Ireland, another chance when she was forced to go head-to-head with fellow 'Nancy', Keisha.

It was the first time the Bangor teenager had been in the bottom two.

During Saturday night's live show Niamh performed a rendition of Valerie, The Zutons song made famous by Amy Winehouse, which received lacklustre comments from the expert panel of judges of John Barrowman, Denise Van Outen and Barry Humphries.

Keisha sang I'm Outta Love which a number of judges said was her best song so far.

But the public did not agree and the two girls were pitted against one another after receiving the lowest number of votes.

They had to perform The Rose by Bette Middler in the tense sing-off.

Shocked by the results, a disappointed Lord Lloyd-Webber said: "First, I'm going to say this is a complete and utter travesty, neither of you should be in the bottom two, it's completely wrong.

"Keisha, you did wonderfully tonight. I've been put into a situation that I have never wanted to be in. For the first time on a television show, I am angry.

"But I'm going to have to go with the majority of the panel and I'm going to save Niamh.

"That was an impossible choice for me. I thought this might happen at one point and this is the first time on this series or any of the others this has happened."

A relieved Niamh quickly ran over to the six remaining hopefuls, who include north Belfast woman Rachel Tucker, as a stunned and visibly disappointed Keisha received kind words from Lord Lloyd-Webber before she left.

He said: "You were absolutely wonderful. I thought you caught my eye in the last routine. I think you have a huge career ahead of you and all I can say is that I'll do anything I can to help you."

She responded: "Understandably, I feel upset that I've left the competition. I tried my hardest. It's been a great experience and I came out fighting."

Next week the Nancys — Ashley, Jessie, Jodie, Rachel, Samantha, Sarah and Niamh — will again compete for the coveted West End role in new musical Oliver!