Singing sensation Zoe Birkett delivered a blunt message to ailing pop band Hear'Say last night: "I'm not interested in joining you."

Hear'Say was formed through ITV show PopStars, the forerunner to Pop Idol, but it is now in crisis after it was confirmed last night that Kym Marsh has quit the group.

Now it has been claimed that they want 16-year-old Zoe, from Darlington, who is among four finalists on Pop Idol, to replace Kym.

However, yesterday Zoe said she knew nothing about the plans. "No one's spoken to me about it, I know nothing about this," she said.

When asked if she would consider joining the band, she replied: "Probably not. It would be a nice opportunity for me, but I want to be a solo artist."

Zoe is the only female contestant left in the competition.

This week, instead of rehearsing one song for the Saturday night show, they must sing two former number one hits.