Andrew Lloyd Webber: 'I've never seen myself on TV'

Andrew Lloyd Webber has not watched any of his TV shows or even seen himself on the small screen, the impresario said. (getty images)

Andrew Lloyd Webber has not watched any of his TV shows or even seen himself on the small screen, the impresario said.

Lord Lloyd-Webber, 61, is about to search for an unknown to play Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz, following the success of TV shows to find leads for The Sound Of Music, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Oliver!.

But he told the Radio Times: "I have never seen myself on television. I never watch myself."

Lord Lloyd-Webber, whose latest musical, Love Never Dies, has received mixed reviews, also told the magazine he had an inkling that something was not right before he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

He said: "I did know that something was very odd. When I finished the recording of the (Love Never Dies) album I thought I should have the tests done and be checked out.

"I didn't know I had the cancer but I did have a funny feeling that something was wrong. I didn't articulate it like that. I didn't think, 'I must get it out of me.' Nothing showed up on the tests. It was only later, when the biopsy was done ..."

The composer, who is now "in the clear", said: "They did some tests last week and nothing is showing up. Once you've had something like this you go every six months.

"Getting your continence back happens pretty quickly. I swim quite a lot. I didn't find that difficult. Sex drive does take a while to come back but, frankly, I've had five children, so in my case it's probably not a bad idea!"

He said: "The most important thing is my children have a father and my wife has a husband. In a way it's Madeleine I'm more worried about than me."

Lord Lloyd-Webber, who is a member of the House of Lords, said of his future plans: "The Lords is woefully under-represented by people from the arts. We are not a manufacturing country any more.

"We have to encourage creative people and once I am over this particular patch I will get myself more involved with the Lords. I don't want to seem untouchable. The television programmes have let people see what makes me tick."