A TRANENT 11-year-old with dreams of stardom is launching her career on the stage as the newest addition to a team of charity singers led by a well-known county DJ.

Windygoul Primary School pupil Tiegan McIntyre was 'discovered' by Tranent DJ Davie Martin when the youngster recorded a demo track in his studio and then appeared on his Sunday morning show on community radio station East Lothian FM.

Davie is well-known across the county for providing entertainment and singers free-of-charge to various local fundraising events and currently has a team of about six regular performers who are always ready and willing to belt out a few tunes for a good cause.

As well as Tiegan, another recent addition to Davie's team is teenage singer Derryn McKillop, 16, also from Tranent.

Davie told the Courier: "I was approached by Tiegan's uncle Scott, as all the family knew how she loved to perform at every opportunity, to give her a wee nudge and see how she enjoyed it. She's a phenomenal wee singer.

"As soon as she was handed the mic she was so relaxed and confident for a girl that age. I thought she would have been a bag of nerves singing in front of a stranger for the first time but she was totally the opposite. It was if she was saying: 'I'll show him all right!'.

"It's a win-win situation for everyone because the charities benefit from having talented performers provide entertainment for their cause, and the singers get the chance to see what it's like performing for an audience. I've been lucky enough to do this for between 20 and 30 years and I've worked with some incredible young singers who have gone on to great things in television, music and theatre." Tiegan already has some experience of performing as a dancer for an audience, having appeared in the past in the annual Brunton Theatre pantomime and the Taste of Scotland show in Prestonfield House.

In 2010, Tiegan was the proud winner of the Charlie Pearson Memorial Shield after singing a duet with fellow pupil Sarah Russell in the 'Windygoul's Got Talent' competition.

Tiegan's mum Vikki Brock, 30, said: "As soon as she could walk Tiegan has always loved singing and dancing. Her teacher at Windygoul Primary was always very enthusiastic about her singing abilities and I was always really confident that she was good, but I wasn't sure if that was just because I'm her mum!

"So it was great when Davie agreed to help her with her singing.

"She's very confident and is really looking forward to performing with Davie and helping to raise money for charity as well.

"She wants to have a career in musical theatre and I think this will offer her a great chance to develop her skills." Tiegan, who lives at The Hedges with her mum and little sister Kenzi, aged five, is set to publicly perform alongside Davie for the first time at a show in her hometown in the next few weeks - though the venue and date remains a secret for now!