TWO teenagers from the North-East will appear in TV's Stars in Their Eyes Kids at the weekend.

Ashlea Pearson, 13, and Peter Skeen, 15, beat off competition from thousands of other young people to win a place on the show.

Ashlea, 13, of Birtley, Gateshead, will be transformed into Latino singer Gloria Estefan, while Peter, of Marley Hill, also Gateshead, will be Alex Band, the lead singer of US rock group The Calling.

The two went to Granada's studios in Manchester and London for auditions earlier this year.

The pre-recorded show will be aired on ITV tomorrow at 6pm, with the winner going through to the final the following week.

Ashlea, who has been singing since the age of eight, attends Lord Lawson School of Beamish. She has her own voice coach.

She said: "I'm excited about the show. The whole experience has been brilliant. All my friends are excited about me being on TV."

Peter, a pupil at Whickham Comprehensive School, has played in his school productions and attends a drama club.

He has just completed a run with the school's production of Billy Liar, in which he played Geoffrey.

Published: 07/05/2004