TICKETS to see singing sensation Zoe Birkett in the North-East as part of a UK tour have sold out in less than a day.

Teenager Zoe, of Darlington, will be starring at the Telewest Arena, Newcastle, with the other finalists from ITV's Pop Idol competition, on April 3 and 4.

She will sing a duet with close friend Gareth Gates as part of the concert, which will also feature the series winner, Will Young.

Following Zoe's acclaimed performance of Get Happy by Judy Garland on the show, she will perform a selection of big band songs on the tour.

Tickets for the two North-East dates went on sale at 9am yesterday and, by 4pm, they had all been sold.

A spokeswoman for the arena said: "The phones have been engaged most of the day. We knew the show would be popular."

Tickets for the rest of the tour sold out in hours and it was announced earlier this week that extra dates would be added for North-East fans.

Zoe has been snapped up by manager Simon Fuller, who is the man behind chart-toppers S Club Seven.

She will featured in a Pop Idol special tonight on ITV, which will reveal what has happened to the finalists since the show ended.