X FACTOR fever swept through Bradford yesterday as popstar wannabes descended on the Kirkgate Centre to wow talent-spotting judges from the hit TV show.

A mobile audition van, which is due to visit 41 towns and cities across the UK over the coming months, was on the lookout for the nation's next singing superstar, and a queue of hopefuls had already started forming by the time auditions started just before 10am.

Encased in a specially-constructed X Factor pod, the singers had their performances filmed in front of members of the show's team, hoping to be deemed good enough to stand a chance of auditioning in front of the show's celebrity judges this summer.

First to sing yesterday morning was 23-year-old Sam Cook, from Wibsey, who tried to wow the judges with her version of the Celine Dion song, 'I'm Alive'.

"I was really nervous to be first in line, my throat had dried up!" she admitted.

"But everyone was really friendly and put me at ease.

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"I'd hate to go through life thinking what if, and you can't tell someone else to go for it if you've never done it yourself.

"I've always made the excuse that the auditions were too far away, but I had no excuse when it was on my doorstep."

Wayne McAuley, 47, who is originally from Canada but now lives in Baildon, made his bid for the show by singing 'You Make it Real', by James Morrison.

"This was on my bucket-list of things to do, but I've auditioned now so I can tick that off," he said.

"I've been singing all my life, and I act, so I've been through the audition process many times before.

"It was a bit early in the morning to be singing, but it was all good."

Jake Street, 18, from Heaton, said he sang 'Somebody to Love' by Queen after being "inspired" by a version of the song performed by Adam Lambert on the X Factor.

"It's a hard song to sing, but I wanted to put my own slant on it, and hopefully I managed to pull it off," he said.

"I thought there was nothing to lose, so I just came down to give it a shot and try and take my chance."

Charlotte Nicholson, from Thackley, was auditioning for the show for a second time after travelling to Manchester to sing as a 16-year-old three years ago.

After singing the Adele version of the Bob Dylan song 'Make You Feel My Love', Miss Nicholson, now 19, said: "I was too nervous back then and didn't have the confidence.

"I'm three years older now, so I wanted to give it another go. I loved every minute of it, so fingers crossed.

"Singing is just something I've always wanted to do."

The most successful act in X Factor history is One Direction, who have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and vowed to carry on as a four-piece band yesterday in the wake of the departure of Bradford-born star Zayn Malik last week.