SINGING sensation Zoe Birkett has turned down a date with the son of one of the world's richest men.

But despite refusing to have dinner with the son of the Sultan of Brunei, Pop Idol finalist, Zoe, 16, has agreed to write to him.

The teenage royal, whose father is worth £10.6bn, invited Zoe out for a meal when he was in the audience of the show two weeks ago.

Zoe, from Darlington, said: "He asked me out for dinner after the show.

"I said no because I had not seen my family all week and I wanted to spend time with them.

"It was nice of him to come to see the show though. When he's not in this country, he has videos of the programme sent to him so he can keep up with what's going on.

"I think I am going to write to him and thank him again for the invite."

Zoe is now the bookie's joint second favourite to win the ITV competition.

The Carmel College student is preparing to sing a big band song on this Saturday's show to win a chance of getting into the final four of the contest.

The winner of the show will receive a recording contract and will be managed by one of the top companies in the music industry.

Bookmakers William Hill yesterday quoted Gareth Gates at evens favourite to win the competition. Zoe and William Young are at 10-1 to win, Darius Danesh is quoted at 14-1 and Hayley Evetts at 33-1.

Read more about Pop Idol's and other music news at Revolution.