A RISING North-East singer just failed to hit the high note in a televised talent contest.

Karen McManus was voted into third place by viewers of BBC1's Star For a Night grand final on Saturday.

The 27-year-old solo artist, from Peterlee, County Durham, qualified as one of 11 winners from earlier televised heats of the prime time series, hosted by acclaimed former cruise ship songstress Jane McDonald.

Judge Nigel Martyn Smith, former manager of Take That, likened her to the Canadian superstar Celine Dion, following her first TV performance in January.

He and fellow celebrity guest Barbara Windsor were highly impressed again on Saturday, when Karen was last of the 11 finalists to perform in the live show.

The EastEnders star described Karen as a true "diva" after she gave a whole-hearted performance of her version of Gene Pitney's classic, I'm Gonna Be Strong, watched by son Danny in the studio audience.

But it was not quite enough to win Karen the overall crown.

Following a 90-minute break, the results of the viewers' telephone poll were announced, revealing another solo female singer, Celestine Walcott-Gordon, was the runaway winner, with 136,778 votes, while Karen was just edged out of second place, receiving 104,251 votes.

Despite the near miss, Karen, who started as a karaoke singer before moving on to the club scene, still hopes to make it big in the music world.

She has been working on a debut album at Consett's Northern Recording studios, and plans soon to release a single version of I'm Gonna Be Strong.