A female bingo player who plays at the Mecca Bingo club at Rutherglen is celebrating after reaching the finals in the Scottish part of the competition. Kellie Stevenson, who takes her grandma with her to play at the local Mecca Bingo each week, advanced from the semi-finals that were held in Drumchapel last week. The trio of judges from Marie Curie were impressed with the version of Tina Turner’s Proud Mary that Kellie chose to perform.

There were seven local contestants taking part in the semi-final and four of them then went through to the Scottish final, which will be held on June 17 at Mecca Forge.

In addition there are two other contestants from the Dundee semi-final that will be taking part in the Scottish finals. Of the six contestants in the Scottish final only one will be chosen to take part in the Grand Final which will be held on 16th July at one of the Midland based clubs. The winner will take away the prize of £5000 plus a year's contract with an entertainment agency.

Rutherglen Mecca’s general manager: “The three judges were from Marie Curie and had a tough time deciding on the four to go through.

“They thought Kellie was great, with a strong voice and look to go with the performance. She had everyone tapping their feet and dancing along.”

The UK national finals will be hosted by television personality Lorraine Kelly.