Hundreds of young wannabes turned out to mimic their favourite stars at auditions for TV's Stars in Their Eyes yesterday.

Children from across the North lined up outside St George's Hall in Bradford to audition for the next series of the junior version of the hit ITV talent show.

Some of the youngsters had queued for hours since the early hours for their turn in front of an audition panel.

Sammy Jo Dewhirst, 15, from Bradford sang Beaut-iful by Christina Aguilera.

"I am excited but not nervous - at least not yet - and I'm looking forward to it more than anything," she said.

Kaya Tarsuslugil, 12, from Wetherby, pictured, dressed as Bradford pop star Gareth Gates to sing Elvis Presley's Suspic-ious Minds. "I enjoy doing this and I work hard, so I have a great chance of winning" said Kaya.

Stephanie Peers, 16, from Chester, was one of the first in the queue.

"We have been waiting in the cold since 4am - I have been practising for at least two months and I'm very excited and nervous," she said as she prepared to sing Rainy Days by Karen Carpenter in full costume complete with wig.

Danielle Fitzpatrick, nine, from Bridlington, sported black boots, a leather jacket and pointy jewellery to become Pink, singing her recent hit A family Portrait.

Becky Hoyle, 9, had travelled from Blackpool to sing as country star Leann Rimes.

"I think I'm more nervous than her," said her mother Anna. "I feel shattered. We have been up since 4am."

The young performers were auditioned in groups of eight and sang for 45 seconds for a panel of four judges.

The judges were Michael Kintish, director of Entertainment Now which produces the show's live tour, John Burland, writer for an entertainment website, Jacqui Blay from Pulse Radio and Pete Brook from Specsavers which sponsored the event.

Competitors were warned by the judges not to confuse the show with programmes like Pop Idol.

"We are not just looking for a great voice but for someone very specific who can impersonate their chosen singer well," said Mr Kintish, who has judged 17 auditions across the country in the last three weeks. He said he was impressed by the standard of candidates in Bradford.

After their auditions the youngsters were led to a gallery where they waited for the judges' verdicts.

The lucky few who were handed a white call-back slip returned in the afternoon.

Selected as winners were Melissa Lawson-Steel, ten, from Bradford, Joe Wingfield, ten, from Leeds, Kenny Davis, 15, from Leeds, and Briody Hartwell, from Northampton.

They will perform at St George's again next year in front of an audience as part of a nationwide Stars in their Eyes tour presented by comedian Bradley Walsh.

The audience will vote for a winner to audition with ITV and the winner will compete with youngsters from across the country on the TV show.

The second round of auditions was planned to take place in October, but has been postponed. It will now take place next spring.