By Donald Turvill

A SINGING mechanic has beaten more than 10,000 other hopefuls to appear on a new BBC 1 show designed to find five men to play Take That in the West End.

Kieran McManus, who works as a mechanic at Tustain Motors in Haddington, applied to appear on Let it Shine after his dad spotted an advert looking for aspiring performers.

Despite having no past experience on the stage, the 19-year-old’s application was positively received and he was invited for an audition.

He said: “I was invited to Manchester BBC Studios for vocal coaching, choreography and a further interview.

“Two weeks later I had a call asking me to attend the BBC Studios in London for the next stage. I was auditioned again and had more coaching.”

One week after returning to Haddington, Kieran, of Burnside, was contacted with the good news that he had been chosen to audition for a celebrity panel, which would be filmed and shown on Saturday night television.

He said: “I had made it from over 10,000 applicants to the final 60 and had never auditioned for anything before.”

The show, devised by Gary Barlow, is new to the BBC and is in search of five young men to be cast in a new West End musical featuring the music of Take That.

The teenager sang Little Things by One Direction in front of the judging panel, made up of Gary Barlow, Dannii Minogue, Martin Kemp and Amber Riley, who are each able to award five stars, with performers needing to score more than 15 to progress to the next round.

Auditions are currently being screened on the BBC and Kieran was keeping tight-lipped about how he got on – though he’s been told he’ll feature on the show televised on BBC1 on the evening of Saturday, January 28.

Speaking about the moment he stepped out and sang for an audience of thousands, Kieran said: “Walking on to the stage in front of a large audience and celebrity panel for the first time in my life has to be the best experience ever – it was such a buzz!”

It was a step into the unknown for the former Knox Academy pupil, who had never taken to the stage before.

He said: “Occasionally, when I have had a few drinks, there is normally karaoke at the Mercat on a Friday night and sometimes I would go there with pals or my brothers and have a good carry on, but other than that it is just singing to myself.

“A lot of my close mates didn’t know I sang until this. My brother Gavin plays guitar and sometimes I would sing along with him.”

He urged anyone who had dreams of pursuing a career in singing or performing to follow their dreams and take a chance, just as he has done.

Kieran now plans to take to the stage more, adding it had “definitely given me more confidence”.

“I have learned so much and met some amazing people, including Gary Barlow, Take That and Graham Norton,” he said.