Kerry stars in Stars in Your Eyes

Thursday, 12 July 2007

Crawley Green's very own Kerry Hughes (above) has been snapped up as a singer and dancer by the cruise ship Oriana just weeks after winning the Stars in Your Eyes competition at the Club - as if we can take any of the glory!
She sets sail for her new career at the beginning of September and the 21-year-old former Ashcroft High pupil couldn't be more elated.
She says: "It's a dream come true. It's really exciting to think I'll be travelling the world AND doing what I love."
However, she's already worried about feeling homesick and missing her mum's cooking.
"But she says there's so much going on there's been no time for nerves or butterflies".
Kerry, daughter of Life Members Charlie and Sharon Hughes, was one of only 13 selected for the prestigious P&O Oriana post.
She says: "My first reaction was shock really. It was my first audition and I honestly didn’t expect to get it. But now she’s rehearing eight hours a day, six days a week.
She's been belting out songs from the The Blues Brothers,
Oh Boy and the Phantom of the Opera in readiness for the 17
1-hour musicals the on-board entertainment team will perform between September and April.

Kerry, appearing as Olivia Newton-John, won the first Stars in Your Eyes competition at Crawley Green

When she returns from her world cruise. Kerry - who has changed her stage surname to Kerry George (after grandad George Huntly) - is looking forward to visiting Australia as well as spending her first Christmas away from home in the Caribbean.
And although she's thrilled to have her first foot on the showbiz ladder, she's already set her sights on the dizzy heights of London’s West End.
She explains “I hope this is just the start. Mum and Dad remortgaged the house to pay for my tuition and I want to to prove that they made the right decision."
Dad Charlie, who runs ABC Bouncy Castles says he and his wife Sharon are "extremely proud" of their talented daughter.
"She's got a natural flair,'' he says. "She's been dancing ever since she could walk.
"It's always been her dream and her goal is to appear on Broadway or in a West End show."
The couple, together with daughters Jade and Kirsty are planning to visit Kerry for part of the Oriana's world cruise.

The Club hopes Kerry will make a guest appearance at the Club (free of charge) when she hits the big time!