Chester women’s choir through to finals of BBC TV series

May 13 2008 by Michael Green, Chester Chronicle

A CHESTER singing group is pinning its hopes on being voted the nation’s favourite choir, after making it through to the final stages of the BBC’s latest TV talent series.

A Handbag of Harmonies travelled to London on Saturday for an audition for Last Choir Standing, the prime-time Saturday night show which will hit our screens this summer.

BBC cameras had filmed choir members as they practised their four-part harmonies, choreography and sax solos.

The choir was one of 60 invited to take part in Saturday’s event. A spokesperson for A Handbag of Harmonies said: “We are all thrilled to have got through to this stage.”

Hundreds of choirs entered the competition which is likely to follow in the successful footsteps of BBC talent searches to find Maria, Joseph, Nancy and Oliver in the series How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, Any Dream Will Do and I’d Do Anything.

The Chester choir, known for its trademark sparkly handbags and pink feather boas, performed in front of a panel of expert and celebrity judges including tenor Russell Watson.

The programme will be presented by former Hear’Say singer Myleene Klass.

The singers’ original audition DVD was produced by students on the University of Chester’s multimedia technologies degree programme.

The Handbags, as the choir is affectionately known, will now head back to London for a final audition to select choirs to take part in the live shows which are scheduled to be broadcast in August.