A BURY mother will abandon her day job later this month to pursue her dream – and come face to face with Britain s most notorious record producer. Claudette Cherlin, whose stagename is Misdeeva, has been invited to audition for the next series of The X-Fa

A BURY mother will abandon her day job later this month to pursue her dream - and come face to face with Britain's most notorious record producer.

Claudette Cherlin, whose stagename is Misdeeva, has been invited to audition for the next series of The X-Factor. She will join thousands of other hopefuls at Wembley Conference Centre on May 16 to perform before the show's three judges - Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh, and, of course, Simon Cowell.

The funk/soul singer, who admits she will fall into the 'older' age category if she gets through the first round, is still in shock after receiving the audition letter from ITV.

She said: "I couldn't believe it. So many people have told me to give it a try, so I did the application and sent off a photo. I had to describe myself in 10 words so I said 'delicious, delightful' and some other stuff. If I'm honest, I didn't expect anything to come of it."

It will be an early start for Claudette, 42, who will have to perform for the judges at 8am.

"It's not normally a good time for singing," she laughs, "but it's a chance of a lifetime and I'm just going to give it my best."

She plans to sing one of her favourites from her set list - Candi Staton's Young Hearts Run Free - but says she is "open-minded" about her prospects. The ultimate prize in the contest is a record deal.

"It could just be the one opportunity, but then again I've seen many people worse than me get through," she said.

With a musical background in church gospel singing, Claudette first appeared on the local music scene when she joined St Ives-based Ju Ju Deluxe as a backing singer in 1994 and later fronted funk/R&B band Positivity.

Launching herself as a soloist, she performed last year at the Mayor's Ball in Huntingdon and at The George Hotel in Buckden for New Year.

Supporting her in The X-Factor quest will be husband Andrew and seven-year-old son Marcell, as well as colleagues from the St Ives technology company where she works. But if Claudette reaches the next stage of the competition, Marcell will be watching on television from the safety of their living room.

"He is very excited for me, but he says he wouldn't come to the television set as he's frightened of Mr Cowell," Claudette said.