ON the night that put the business into show business, the big winner from The Deep End at the Grand Opera House was charity.

Not only did the programme proceeds from the York business community's pop talent contest go to the Evening Press's Guardian Angels campaign, but Hunters, the estate agents, answered to the persuasive tongue of compere and auctioneer Big Ian to win the raffle rights to sing a leg-swinging finale of Frank Sinatra late night classic, New York, New York.

At the end, the stage was even more crowded as all 22 acts joined for a grand goodnight to the audience of about 1,000 in the manner of the Live Aid

concerts, Big Ian leading the joyful throng through We Are The Champions.

"No time for losers," runs the Queen lyric, but this was not the sentiment of a night when taking part was a triumph in itself.

As Big Ian explained in the programme introduction, the concept was to "take people from the world of business and transport them from their comfort zones into the Deep End. They have to pick a song, learn it, rehearse with the band for only 15 minutes, and then they're on."

They would, however, not know when they were on until the rotating images stopped at their picture, in SplashMedia graphic designer Steve Cowell's update of the spinning wheel.

The only certainty was that winner would donate £3,000 to the charities of their choice.

First up was Jim Wraith from The Oaks Golf Club, and with the swishing confidence of a drive on the first tee, he hit The Mavericks' Dance The Night Away straight down the middle.

Among the first half highlights were Claudette Paul, from Hunters, shaking the foundations with the gospel number Oh Happy Day and York City's Sophie McGill hitting the target with more accuracy than her club's strikers with Stand By Me.

This was an increasingly rousing occasion when the spirit of The X Factor, the office Christmas party and the David Brent performer in all of us rolled into one.

The top three came from the second half: Ventura's Paul Staveley may have favoured jeans and a shirt over a catsuit, as if he had just been pulled from the crowd for his 15 minutes of fame, but he took The Darkness's I Believe In A Thing Called Love even further over the top and on to victory.

Your Move Anscomb's Scott Anscomb showed off his moves in Mr Bojangles to take second place, and Kim Bradshaw was rewarded for the bravery of taking on Sinead O'Connor's incomparable Nothing Compares 2 U with third spot.

Big Ian enthused: "The night was a great success; we had six companies ringing up on the day begging to take part, and The Deep End will definitely be back next year, hopefully not only in York but elsewhere as well."

Oh happy day indeed.

Updated: 14:46 Wednesday, February 08, 2006