CROYDON student Katy Shotter rose to fame as winner of reality TV show Chancers in 2007 and toured with none other than R&B diva Beyonce Knowles.

The 21-year-old returns to her roots on May 29 to play a homecoming gig at Fairfield Halls.

“It’s crazy to be performing here,” Katy gushes.

“I used to go past on the 403 bus and always looked at it.

“It’s one of those iconic venues you dream of performing in so it feels quite weird.”

Mixing pop, soul and Motown, Katy is still a relative unknown in her native Blighty.

But having collaborated with superstar rapper P Diddy in the US and a debut album currently being recorded, it’s only a matter of time before she’s topping the UK charts.

After winning Chancers, Katy admits she hasn’t had the success she hoped for.

She said: “My whole career has gone a bit backwards.

“As part of the prize for winning Chancers I was signed to Sony, but there were a lot of problems between the label and my management which I just got caught in the middle of.

“I wanted stuff to happen that year but it stalled so I decided to release myself and find a better direction.

“It has been a rollercoaster and it’s a tough industry but it makes you stronger.”

Despite struggling to find her feet in the music industry, performing with Beyonce was an unbelievable opportunity.

Katy says she first met the Single Ladies singer at the Knowles family house in Houston, Texas.

She said: “I was very tempted to steal some toilet roll and was pretty starstruck.

“On the UK and Spanish tour I didn’t see her much but I got really close to her in America.

“We had moments when it would just be me and her sunbathing by the pool.

“She has two sides to her in that on stage she can be this great diva but off it she is very down to earth and an inspiration.”

Katy Shotter and band. Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, Croydon. May 29. 8pm. £16. To book tickets, call 020 8688 9291 or visit fairfield.co.uk