Andrew Lloyd Webber has revealed why he decided to move from BBC to ITV for his new talent show ‘Superstar.’

The British composer and TV star will soon commence his search for a male singer and actor to take on the lead role in his hit musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ which will embark on an arena tour later this year.

The search will be televised on ITV, much in the same vein as his previous series ‘I’d Do Anything’ and ‘Any Dream Will Do’ did on BBC One.

Speaking on This Morning Andrew said that he hasn’t abandoned the BBC and would work with them again if the right project came up but explained that he already had working relationships with Elaine Bedell, ITV’s Director of Entertainment & Comedy and ITV’s director of television Peter Fincham.

Lloyd Webber said:

It’s not like a move for me, because TV is not my day job anyway. I’m sure I’ll do something else with the BBC if they ask me but Peter Fincham who is boss of ITV, he worked with me along with Elaine Beddell on the original casting programmes with the BBC and they asked me if I fancied doing something.

I said I would if we did something completely different.

Explaining the history of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, Andrew explained that the show started out as a rock project and a rock album, because back in the late 60s, no one would produce it for theatre. In this way, he is delighted that the show will finally be returning to it’s roots.

He added:

Originally when Tim Rice and I wrote the piece, nobody was interested in producing it for theatre at all….which probably was great news because we did get the money together to record the album. We made it as a rock album and we didn’t have anyone breathing down our necks saying “you’ve got to make a change here or you ought to do this.’ I’m sure if we’d went the theatre route, we wouldn’t be here talking about it today.

The original album came out in 1970 and the stadium tours in America – there were three going out at once – all went out in 1971. People slightly forget I think that it really started in rock arenas, it got slightly shoe horned into theatres.

What I want the TV show to reflect is, I want it to be about real rock. For example I want a rock band in the studio if I can find one, I want everything to be live.

Andrew also revealed that if they find enough talented hopefuls, he and his fellow judges may also cast the role of Judas during the series.

Auditions for the show will take place in various locations around the UK next month and you can get more details on the tryouts and apply for the ITV show here.

Also, don’t forget, if you are trying out for this or any other TV show, we have a busy auditionees forum where hopefuls share tips, advice and information with one another and also chat about their behind the scenes experiences. You can join up or have a browse here.

Lastly, get all the latest Superstar news and join in the chat, here.