From the fishmongers to fame: X Factor finalist Lola Saunders is living her dream of singing for a living and she’s taking it all in her stride.

How are you finding your first ever stage tour as a star?

We’ve just got a really good thing going on. The show is going great and it’s a really good atmosphere.

Was it a steep learning curve for you to star in Save the Last Dance for Me?

Obviously when we came out of rehearsals and you’re finding your feet it was a little bit hard but now it feels second nature. I am really enjoying it.

You auditioned on the X Factor but how are you enjoying the singing on the show?

Although there are four leads in the show we all get to sing. I was terrified of the dancing at first but now I think I’d like to do more of it. I absolutely love singing but doing the acting as well is great. This show has opened my eyes to the acting and dancing too, and it’s something I would want to do more of.

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Did you think you would ever star in a professional stage production like this?

I have always been fond of shows and performing, I was always into it. It used to be singing pop, jazz, R&B and soul but through The X Factor this opportunity came about and I am learning from the best of them now.

You star alongside Antony Costa – has he been able to give you advice?

He has toured and been in the music business for a long time so I am learning so much from him.

How many times have your family seen the show?

Oh, it’s double figures – at least! They love it and are so excited.

Have you been back to the fishmongers where you used to work?

Most of the staff are still my good friends so I see them all the time. It is really nice.

THE SHOW

Save the Last Dance For Me is a nostalgic, feel-good journey taking you back to music’s golden era – the summer of ‘63. It stars Antony Costa from boy band Blue and X Factor finalist Lola Saunders.

Lola, 22, was working in a fishmongers shop near Sunderland when she got her big break on the ITV talent show. The daughter of ex-Newcastle United player Wes Saunders came 10th. Antony Costa had a string of hits with Blue from 2000 to 2005 including All Rise which was No.1 in 2001. The band reformed and toured with the Big Reunion series in 2013 and went on to do a world tour themselves.

Save the Last Dance for Me follows two teenage sisters on a seaside holiday, where they meet a handsome young American who invites them to a dance at the local air force base.
Featuring classic hits including A Teenager In Love, Sweets For My Sweet, Turn Me Loose and Viva Las Vegas, the show comes from stage greats Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield.

Antony Costa is also set to appear in panto at the Woodville in Gravesend this Christmas in Jack and the Beanstalk. More details at woodville.co.uk.

THE DETAILS

Save the Last Dance for Me will be at the Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells from Monday, July 4 to Saturday, July 9. For tickets from £23.50 at assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk or call 01892 530613.