Lloyd Webber’s trading company, The Really Useful Group, is cashing in on the success of the West End musical, which was boosted by BBC talent show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, on which he appeared.

It is the first time Lloyd Webber’s company has linked up with a retailer to launch a spin-off line from one of his theatre productions.

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The 18-piece girlswear collection features lyrics such as Do-Re-Mi and Raindrops On Roses and will be advertised with the use of in-store photography featuring “Maria” winner Connie Fisher.

Separately, Tesco is to use veteran crooner Des O’Connor for its Christmas TV advertising campaign from the end
of this month.

Its rival Asda is shunning celebrity endorsement for the festive period by using real people from the North Yorkshire village of Austwick in its advertising campaign, which launches tomorrow.

“We’re not putting money in the back pockets of celebrities when there’s a recession,” said an Asda spokesman.

Last week, Sainsbury’s launched a campaign using celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and light entertainment duo Ant and Dec.