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The quarter finals! After weeks of performances and an audition process that began all the way back in January, the end of the rainbow is final in sight… and, as the final six waited to take to the stage, the buzz at the Over The Rainbow studios was even louder than usual. With the planned double elimination looming, filming began slightly earlier this week, and, what with the football going on down the road at Wembley Stadium we found ourselves sneaking in slightly late – ooops. It did mean we had to queue up behind the Dorothys and a very glamorous Charlotte Church as they waited to make their entrance, though. We were so close we could see those Dorothy petticoats…

As we found our seats we spied more familiar faces in the audience: Stephanie, who left the competition last week, chatting away to Arlene Phillips – “she’s getting a job from Arlene!” our warm-up comedian Stu joked – while Anthony Head, partner of Toto panellist Sarah Fisher and he of Merlin, Buffy, Little Britain and Gold Blend fame, stood up to give us all a little wave.

Graham recorded a few trails to be shown after the show – “Don’t worry, that’s for later, you haven’t missed anything,” he reassured us – before introducing the panel. John Partridge whooped as he turned around to grin at us from his seat while on the other side of the stage the Dorothys were having their usual pre-show huddle. “They’re having their little hug before the show, let’s wish them all luck,” Stu said as the theme music started…

This being musical theatre week, the girls kicked off the show in suitable style with ‘Defying Gravity’ from Wizard of Oz prequel Wicked, before Graham explained how this week’s double elimination would work. “It’s the hottest competition for your votes since… well, Thursday,” he said, referring to last week’s General Election. With one of the girls due to say her goodbyes in Saturday’s live show, Andrew reminded viewers that they should think about all the girls’ performances from previous weeks.

Danielle was the first to perform, singing ‘On My Own’ from Les Miserables – a simple song deliberately chosen to contrast with last week’s more upbeat ‘Mambo Italiano’ – before Jessica took to the stage to perform her very energetic version of ‘Supercalifragilistic’ from Mary Poppins.

Charlotte thought Danielle’s was “an emotive performance… the last few lines were simply stunning,” thought she warned her to watch out for sounding “shouty” on the top notes. John admired her “grace and sensitivity”. For fellow panellist Sheila Hancock, her performance wasn’t as good as in previous weeks, but she still compared Danielle to recent Tony Award nominee Catherine Zeta Jones. “You have star quality,” she said.

John called Jessica his “marmite Dorothy – sometimes I really love it, and sometimes I don’t.” This week he felt her performance was a bit cheesy – “but cheese and marmite, the perfect combination,” he added. Charlotte liked it – “that was extravagant and fun and frivolous, your vocals suffered a little bit because you were out of breath but it didn’t bother me at all,” she said. Sheila felt she could have had more fun with the word, while Andrew thought she was a fantastic performer. “You never cease to make me smile,” he said.

Next up were Steph, who gave an emotional performance of ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story, and Jenny, whose version of ‘Send in the Clowns’ from A Little Night Music had all her supporters waving their banners wildly.

Sheila thought Steph’s performance was “absolutely wonderful… there was a moment in the middle that was pure magic,” while John assured Steph that there was a place for her – “it’s back here on this stage next week, in the semi-final,” he said, to cheers from Steph’s family and friends. Charlotte loved it as well – “that was just special,” she said – while Andrew thought she had done “really well… you got the meaning of the words,” he added.

Jenny’s performance had some more mixed comments, with John and Charlotte having another disagreement. “Jenny, when you perform an up-tempo number I love it, when you sing a song like this I think the acting comes across a bit half-baked…” John told her. “I completely disagree… it was simple and lovely and your voice sounded quite classic,” was Charlotte’s response. Sheila and Andrew both agreed that it was a difficult song for a performer of Jenny’s age to sing. “You did rather better than I thought, because of course it’s about an older woman,” Andrew told her.

This week’s final two were Sophie, whose version of ‘I Enjoy Being A Girl’ from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song encouraged even more sign-waving from her supporters in the audience, and Lauren, who sang ‘Being Alive’ from Company.

John praised Sophie’s “openness,” but was worried that her performance was too TV. “It’s a bit understated and I just worry that in a big theatre that sort of performance might be lost.” Charlotte disagreed again – “I thought that was great… you laid it on the line there, that was really brave of you, and your vocal was spot on.” Sheila thought she could have sent the song up a bit more. “This is a daft song for a modern woman to sing,” she said; a judgement Andrew agreed with.

Lauren’s performance was, for John, “sav[ing] the best till last… you have the best voice in this competition,” he told her. Charlotte agreed this time, saying, “I have to stop fawning over you, it’s getting a bit embarrassing,” although she did add some advice: “Sometimes you don’t need to hold those notes that long.” Sheila felt she could have “cherished the lyric a bit more,” but thought Lauren was “terrific… very professional.” Andrew thought it was “a fantastic performance,” though he agreed with Charlotte’s comments about her vocal.

And so, with all six girls having performed, it was time for the first round of voting. Graham announced the lines were open for just 15 minutes – although in the audience our mobiles remained off, of course…

Meanwhile we got a glimpse into the previous week’s acting mission, which saw each of the girls perform a scene with Toto, aka Bobby the Westie. To add extra pressure, Andrew was watching. While Steph had problems coaxing Bobby into the room – “she’s a proper actress, but it looked as if Toto was going to gobble her hand off,” was Andrew’s view – Jenny had the opposite problem when Bobby took it upon himself to run off-set. “I felt for her, because she obviously doesn’t have a rapport with the dog,” Andrew said.

Andrew was impressed with Lauren and Danielle. “Danielle controlled Toto and did the scene; she’s got to be a strong contender… Lauren has a natural rapport with animals, and she never let the acting side down,” he said. Jessica also came in for praise – “flashes of brilliance… and she kept the dog happy” – while Sophie’s successful handling of Toto was a plus for Andrew. “That’s going to be important for her because she’s a bit green as an actress,” he said.

From acting with them to talking to them, back in the studio the girls performed ‘Talk to the Animals’ from Dr Doolittle – then it was time for another exclusive performance as panellist Charlotte swapped places with the Dorothys and took to the stage to sing her new single, ‘The Actors.’ A standing ovation from the audience for Ms Church after her first solo performance in four years…

But, all too quickly, it was time for Graham to reveal which two were in the first of the weekend’s sing-offs. Gasps from the audience again as Lauren and Jenny’s names were called, and cheers from the girls’ supporters as they both walked forward to perform ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ for Andrew.

After a beautiful performance from both girls, it was time for the Lord to make his decision. Choosing to save Lauren, he explained: “Jenny, you are very very talented, what made me worried was the acting scene, you were a bit at sea with Toto.”

Time for another goodbye – “I think the hardest thing about going home is leaving my girls…!” said Jenny, before joining the others for one final time. As she sailed over the rainbow to more cheers from the audience, we spotted Stephanie on her feet.

So, with just five girls left, the remaining Dorothys performed a Wizard of Oz medley in a bid to avoid being the second girl to be sent home. Jenny was quietly lowered back onto the stage as the girls sang, and Graham announced that the voting lines were back open…

Read our Oz Blog on Sunday’s show here.

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For more information on Over The Rainbow, visit www.bbc.co.uk/dorothy.