YOUNG singing and dancing wannabes stepped out on a professional stage on the last leg of their bid to land a regional talent title.

The best 25 acts chosen from a long-running live audition process gave it their best shot in the final of talentSTAR.

Durham's Gala Theatre was packed with parents, family and friends of the finalists.

The performers earned their place on the Gala stage having won through from 20 auditions at schools and colleges around the region and four semi-finals.

Metro Radio's Wayne hosted the final, and was also one of three judges, with Mark Allen and Jim Tait.

Having heard all 25 acts live, the panel asked the best three to go back on stage for a second performance.

Callum Whitehead, 11, from Eaglescliffe, Stockton, performed an Eminem song, while 15-year-old Sarah Warbey, from Darlington, gave a rendition of Eva Cassidy's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

But the top act, from the 1,000-plus to have entered talentSTAR, was judged to be 14-year-old Biba Christie, a singer song-writer from Woodham School, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

Playing the piano, she sang her own song, Wait for You, which was greeted by an ovation from the audience.

She won a prize of a dedicated website, photoshoot and recording session with experienced producers to make her own compilation CD.

Organiser Adam Chetter said: "As we told them, they were all winners if you think of the original entry of more than 1,000, and I would have thought any one of ten acts from the final could now go on to make it."

Mr Chetter is now preparing for next year's event, beginning in October, which culminates in a final on July 4 next year.