A COLCHESTER singer with his foot on the first rung of the ladder to super stardom said yesterday he was "on planet fruit cake" after being voted into the BBC's Fame Academy.

A COLCHESTER singer with his foot on the first rung of the ladder to super stardom said yesterday he was "on planet fruit cake" after being voted into the BBC's Fame Academy.

Former labourer Peter Brame, 23, won the backing of television viewers across Britain on Wednesday night for his live three-minute rendition of The Monkees' Last Train to Clarksville.

Speaking yesterday after his win, Peter said: "I'm on planet fruit cake! I decided I'd just be myself and see how people reacted."

And he added: "Robin Gibb said my rendition was better than The Monkees - I have to agree!"

Auditions for remaining places in Fame Academy continue on Saturday and Wednesday and Peter is now hoping he will become the ultimate Fame Academy winner who will secure a contract with UK record label Polydor, the company behind international selling-artists Eminem, 50 Cent, Sting, Ian Brown, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Ms Dynamite.

The winner will also land a showbusiness lifestyle for a year, which includes a luxury flat, a car, a recording session at Abbey Road studios, a luxury holiday for two, a personal stylist and VIP tickets to some of the year's biggest events.

The Essex University history graduate, who has cited The Beatles, The Verve and Oasis as his favourite bands, is a regular name at the Colchester Arts Centre and the town's Soundhouse.

Over the coming weeks, viewers will enjoy a close-up view of him in the star school as the real life stories, characters and relationships develop between the 13 students as they go through intense training. They will be seen living together, rehearsing together, with all the tears, tantrums, successes and failures along the way.

The realities of what it takes to become a music superstar will be exposed as leading specialists from all fields of the industry give students the best professional training there is - from performance and song writing to behind-the-scenes preparation.

The £35 million academy, located in private grounds in North London, has been kitted out with state of the art equipment and facilities to nurture the students' raw talents and will also be their home for the weeks of intensive, round-the-clock training.

Sharon.Asplin@eadt.co.uk