Former Burnley Youth Theatre student ready to perform on stage with chart topping band Little Mix

Patrick, (21) is part of the band Since September, formed in 2020 when he and three others won the Little Mix: The Search aired on BBC1.

They will be supporting Little Mix on their Confetti Tour, their final tour before they go on a hiatus, which starts this April and ends in May.

However before that Patrick, who attended Burnley Youth Theatre, will be performing for Laura Nuttall at a charity ball at Giddy Kippers in Nelson, owned by Laura’s mum, Nicola, and dad, Mark, along with sister, Gracie.

The three-course meal, hosted by BBC 5 Live’s Tony Livesey and also featuring singer Josh Hindle, is on Saturday, March 5th and it’s to raise vital funds to continue Laura’s immunotherapy treatment in Germany.

Laura, at 18, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2018 and given a shock initial prognosis of 12 months to live.

She went through surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy and managed to start back at Manchester University.

The tumour returned and Laura had to have more surgery in December and is still making the self-funded trips to Cologne for the immunotherapy treatment which isn’t available in the UK.

“I have known Laura since she was seven, she is my oldest friend, our mums used to run at Seedhill track together,” said Patrick.

“I have been through a lot with her. I remember I went to the hospital to see her when she was just diagnosed and she had her first operation and it was a hopeful day as we were confident they had got it all out.

“Then the next day I found out it was terminal and that was tough. I have been there with Laura and her family since the start of this and it’s great now I can do this little thing for her.

“I have got a platform which is me and my acoustic guitar and to be able to use it and help Laura, who has been my friend for 14 years, means a lot.

“It will be emotional for me, I won’t lie I will probably cry on the stage but I know it will be all positive as we are raising funds.

“Me and Laura have a good relationship although we are both terrible at texting. I will text her and she will reply about a week later and I am the same!

“But we are always there for each other. When she started doing her bucket list and got to meet Johnny Marr, that was cool.

“And when we have a new single out she will text me.

“Everything about Laura just fills me up, it’s a difficult subject for me to talk about so I am just happy I can do something for her. I didn’t care when, where or what it was – I was going to do it.”

Patrick and Since September will then be on a tour around the major cities in the UK with Little Mix. After his win he was given a hero's welcome when he returned to his Pendle home to be greeted by his proud parents, Molly and Dean and family, friends and neighbours who supported him on the show.

Now living in Trawden, Patrick and his family lived in Fence for 13 years and he attended Wheatley Lane Primary School in the village.

Speaking about the tour he said: “I think the smallest venue holds around 11,000 – that blows my mind, playing in front of that many people.

“I am living the dream. I was at Manchester Uni studying politics and German and I was good at it, it just wasn’t my passion. Music is my passion and I am getting to live in London and write songs and sing every single day.

“I can’t wait for the tour, we are all ready for it and excited.”

Laura’s mum Nicola said: “We are so grateful Patrick is playing and are really looking forward to the charity ball. It’s also a belated celebration of Laura's last two birthdays.

“Her 21st was spent in lockdown and her 22nd in Salford General so we think she deserves a good night out!”

Tickets are £50 each, with tables of 10 available, although people are not obliged to book a table of 10, from [email protected]