Two Bromley borough beauties are set to do vocal battle this Saturday when they go head-to-head on ITV's Pop Idol show.

Crofton's Davina Perera and Penge teen-sensation Tania Foster will be take on eight other hopefuls including the infamous Darius, who rose to fame when he starred in the hit programme Popstars.

Professional singer Davina, whose career highlight so far has been to star in the West End musical Miss Saigon, says she expects a close contest.

She said: "Gosh, I don't know if I'll win. I know I'm a half-decent singer, but it's a hard one to call."

The 24-year-old attended Bullers Wood School for Girls and Dartford's North West Kent College, before her talent for singing led her to The Royal Academy of Music.

On Saturday, she hopes to impress the British public with either Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart, Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time or Vonda Shepherd's Searching My Soul.

She said: "I'm just praying that people from my area will back me."

Sixteen-year-old Tania of Blean Grove, who is the youngest contestant left in the show, says she cannot wait to belt out Roberta Flack's 1973 smash hit Killing Me Softly.

"I am not nervous at the moment, but it'll probably hit me on the day," she said.

If the self-confessed cheese-addict, who attends the Brit School for Drama and Arts, Selhurst, is chosen by the public to go through to the final and then wins, she says she will treat her mother.

She said: "I love singing and I love meeting new people. If I win I will put my Mum on a plane because she has just turned 40 and has never flown."

On last Saturday's Pop Idol, Petts Wood's Carla Winters, who featured in last week's News Shopper, failed to make it through to the final.

November 21, 2001 18:00