Around 90 hopefuls danced, sang and acted their way through a day of auditions in a bid to impress Christine Harris-Appleby – managing director of Say Two Productions Ltd, Eccleston.

Christine, a ballerina who was trained by Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips, is looking for individuals to appear in the Italian tour of Fame which will stop off at Milan, Verona, Rome and Venice.

Christine, who lives in Leyland, said: "Me and the panel will go through and pick those we think are worth seeing again.

"It's an elimination process just like the X-Factor but a bit quicker."

The contenders, who showcased their talents at the Invincibles Pavillion, Deepdale, had already managed to catch the eyes of the judges out of thousands of applications.

But Christine warned that the successful candidates would need to prove themselves to be outstanding performers to make it in a notoriously tough business.

She said: "What I've seen today so far has been ok. It's professional work and it really is difficult casting for musicals because they have to sing, dance and act brilliantly. They have to have all three and tenacity. But we're also looking for people with a raw talent because we're quite happy to train."

Wes Bromley, 19, who went to Fulwood High School, successfully auditioned for Grease in December and now also works for Say Two, helping with auditions and choreographing routines.

The former Cardinal Newman College student, of Blackpool Road, said: "I'm teaching today but I'm also being auditioned to hopefully go back out (to Italy) with Fame.

"The routines are not easy at all. But I've seen a lot of raw talent – dancers, different singers and then some acting's really good."

A second round of auditions is due to take place in London with the recalls taking place in Preston on July 11.

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