York College student Demelza Stafford, who is to make her West End debut singing in a Victorian Variety Evening

Student Demelza Stafford will be heading for the bright lights of London at the end of this month when she appears on a West End stage.

Demelza, 18, will be singing in a Victorian Variety Evening at the Players Theatre after winning through auditions at the Pineapple Studios in the summer.

She had to sing and dance at the audition and, despite being less than confident about her dancing, won through thanks to her well-practised voice.

In 1997, she was runner-up in the BBC Radio Two Choir Girl of the Year competition.

The following year she made her first CD, called Demelza.

She competes regularly in music festivals in York and Harrogate, and is hoping that her West End performance will lead to many others.

Demelza, of Hambleton, near Selby, has already been asked to appear in Footlights of Broadway, featuring musical hits from Broadway, in May 2000.

A former pupil of Selby High School, she is studying for a GNVQ in business at York College after completing her A-levels there, and is hoping to win an audition for the Royal College of Music in London.

The Victorian Variety Evening, promoted by Next Stage Productions, takes place on October 25.

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