A CILLA Black lookalike, singer and comedian who started her career in a pigsty is celebrating five decades in the world of show business.

Brenda Collins has been making audiences laugh and cry since she was asked to join a band by a “bunch of lads” she sat on a bus with in the 1960s - and today the devoted entertainer continues to please crowds on cruises across the globe every year.

Well known throughout the North-East, the 66-year-old says she is still loving life on the stage and has no plans to give it up any time soon.

Reflecting on her time in the trade, Brenda, who lives near Rushyford, County Durham, said: “The past 50 years have been amazing. In show business the highlights have been making people happy. It’s wonderful - I love it and I love life.”

The grandmother-of-four, whose real name is Brenda Woods, is originally from Bowburn.

It was at school where she discovered her talent for singing - after being kicked out of a class for copying and landing in the hands of the music teacher.

As a teenager she performed in school productions and sang in choirs but it was not until she was working at a solicitor’s firm in Durham City when she took her first key step into entertainment.

Friends on the bus home asked the then 16-year-old to sing for them and The Krack of Dorn started playing at the end of 1969 in a pig pen in High Shincliffe - complete with electricity and good to go following a clear out.

“The lads set the equipment up and that was out first rehearsal,” added Brenda. “I loved it, every bit of it. After the rehearsal I stood at the bus stop on the way home and thought I couldn’t wait to tell my mum and dad I’m going to join a group and do something I love doing, which is singing, and get paid for it.”

The band’s first fee was £9 for a gig at Blackhouse Working Men’s Club, Sacriston, and following a shake-up the outfit turned professional in 1970.

In 1971 Brenda married drummer John Woods and The Krack of Dorn began performing a gruelling 15 shows a week across the UK and in Germany on army bases.

Just six years later the singer was dealt a devastating blow when a doctor recommended a two-year break to save her suffering voice.

Undeterred, Brenda looked to mime as an alternative and the comedy double act Krack and Dorn, with her then husband, was born.

It was as part of this act that the entertainer cashed in on her uncanny resemblance to Cilla Black - changing her hair as the star changed her’s - while incorporating the Angel of the North, Benny Hill music and later, song.

The pair went their separate ways personally and professionally 30 years ago.

At home on the stage, Brenda has since then continued with a one-woman-show and following several years entertaining in the Metrocentre, Gateshead, she now performs on a dozen cruises a year where she is known and loved thanks to a near 20-year stint.

“I became friends with passengers, they follow me around and I have a lovely rapport with them,” she added. “Now I suppose I’m a legend.”

Brenda will perform at the Alun Armstrong Theatre to celebrate her 50 year milestone.