Britain's Got Talent coming to Newtown

Dozens of singers, dancers, comedians, contortionists and exceptional animals are expected to be queueing around the block for the first step on the road to stardom.

The venue isn't any grand theatre or music hall – but rather Mirrens Steak & Tapas Bar in Newtown.

It is the first stage for hopefuls who eventually hope to make it to the televised stages of the show and ultimately to the live finals next Easter.

A production team from the hit ITV show, which launched the careers of Susan Boyle, Diversity and Paul Potts, will be at the bar on November 7 from 7pm.

There will be no celebrities there - simply a number of BGT staff clutching clipboards and looking for posible candidates good and bad who might make good TV in the future.

And for Anna Cooperwhite, the owner of Mirren's, it is a coup that she and all her customers are looking forward to.

The bar already hosts live entertainment, one of the reasons it was picked by Brtain's Got Talent. Other venues in Shropshire are expected to be used in the future by the BGT talent spotters.

See also: Britain's Got Talent brothers will perform at Eisteddfod.

She said: "To say we are all excited about the production team from BGT visiting us is an understatement.

"Newtown will once again be marked on the map, but the most momentous part is they have chosen my restaurant to hold the auditions, which is absolutely fabulous.

"I have to say a massive thanks to Tommy Mills for getting the open mic nights started again in Newtown, because without having our open mic nights we wouldn't be having the Britain's Got Talent team coming to Mirren's."

The auditions will be part of a national tour which will see the BGT team travel outside the usual big cities where they have previously looked for competitors.

Steph Hopgood, casting researcher at Thames TV, said: "Britain's Got Talent is back and this time, we are bringing the auditions to you. We are leaving no stone unturned and reaching out even further to those places where it may be slightly more difficult to attend one of our big audition open days.

See also: Britain's Got Talent spotlight changed county lives.

"The team are very excited to be at in Newtown and we would love to see lots of people come down.

"The show is open to any performer of any age, from any background, with any talent - all they need is a skill and star quality which they think will impress. Anything goes from comedians to contortionists, dancers to drag acts and acrobats to animals.

"These local auditions will run in tandem with the open audition tour which is visiting larger cities across the UK."

Anyone wanting to perform can sign up by contacting Mirren's Steak & Tapas Bar, Parkers Lane, Newtown, on (01686) 621120.

See also: Simon Cowell no pussycat over Telford man's dolls BGT stage act.