connoisseur

Watched Lionel Bart's marvellous musical "Oliver" again on Channel 5 this evening.
My question is this. How did Shani Wallis manage to ever land the plum role of Nancy over the likes of Georgia Brown who had played the part on stage and a host of other possibly equally talented and higher profile actress/singers at the time? (1968).
I remember that Shani who had a fair amount of stage experience but nothing you could really call first division, was always a pleasant but limited singer who popped up frequently in the mid sixties as second or third billing on variety shows. She was a familiar face but hardly star casting. Prior to "Oliver" I seem to recall she hadnt been seen on TV for a while.
Remarkably she pulled it off and added considerably to the charm of the film.
But again, after that, her star seemed to fade again.
Her part as Nancy in this film was definitely her shining hour.