A group of 21 nervous boys were a the Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Darlington, for tough auditions late last week, their single aim - to win The Northern Echo's scholarship to train as a would-be Billy Elliot. Women's Editor Sarah Foster joined the judging panel.

I COULDN'T have said who was more nervous - me or them. As I surveyed the sea of faces, the serious looks and anxious eyes, I was struck by just one thought: why on earth had I agreed to be a judge?

Yet here I was, and disconcerting though it felt, the fate of each expectant boy was partly resting in my hands.

My fellow judges for the night were Trudy Hindmarsh, of the children's drama school Stagecoach Darlington and Yarm, and Darrien Wright, star of TV's Strictly Dance Fever.

I'd asked if Darrien could be there at the last-minute and he had graciously agreed - now it was clear he was a hit with all the boys.

He offered words of sound advice and then the first part of the test - the ballet routine - was under way.

The audition was to win the first Northern Echo dance scholarship - a new initiative to teach young boys the basic rudiments of dance - so we were keen to see the children take the floor.

We'd also asked them to prepare and sing a song, and there was one more stringent test when they were taught some street dance steps.

The boys were brilliant throughout - each one really gave his all - and when the time had come for us to make a choice we found it harder than we'd thought.

In the end, one child stood out not just for how he sang and danced, but for his presence and his charm.

We all agreed that Theo Close should be our winner.

Trudy said she had taught Theo, who is 11, and lives in Chilton, near Ferryhill, County Durham, for several years and feels he has every chance of doing well as a dancer.

"He's been a student at Stagecoach for a number of years and what I like about him is that he's always totally focused," she said.

"He's got that watchability, that nice personality and he works his socks off. He's got all the abilities that I think they need for the role of Billy Elliot."

Darrien said he was bowled over by the standard overall. "If that's what talent we've got here we need to push it further and further because we've got stars in the making in the North-East," he said.

* Coming soon in The Northern Echo: The first interview with our new Billy Elliot, Theo Close.