Darren Cooper, 23, of Fleetway, appeared on our TV screens last weekend and wowed the panel of judges with his vocal talents.

He will now go head to head with the cream of the crop in the contest's first heat set to be screened over forthcoming weeks.

"It was daunting to have to sing in front of the judges - really surreal," said Darren, who works at wire rope factory Brunton Shaw, on Sandy Lane. "I chose If You're Not the One by Daniel Bedingfield and The Backstreet Boys' All I Have To Give."

"My mum told me to go for it after I won the Bassetlaw Idol last year," he added. "I had to go through two initial auditions before I was accepted to go to Sheffield to sing before the judges."

Although he received a "no" from Simon Cowell, the other three judges – Sharon Osborne, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue – gave him their vote of confidence, sending him through to Boot Camp.

"Simon was very polite, asking me about my job and what I do. His exact words were 'I like you Darren, and so I'm going to say no'. I was over the moon when I got three yeses."

Darren's parents and girlfriend, Lisa North, are extremely proud of his efforts, and wished him well for Boot Camp.

"He did fantastically well to get that far out of 330,000 hopefuls," said Lisa. "I have supported him throughout and his family and I are so proud of him. He deserves to have a fantastic singing career – his singing voice is excellent."

Added dad Stephen: "He's done really well. It was a pity he wasn't on TV for a bit longer though. We are really proud of him, he's sung ever since he was a little kid."

"Everything he enters he seems to win," said mum Alma. "And he recently sang on Trust AM radio. His dad and I are over the moon."

X-Factor returned to our screens for a fourth series this autumn and is billed by its makers as the UK's biggest ever talent search – allowing both solo singers and groups to compete.

And this year the minimum age has been lowered to 14 – attracting even more singing hopefuls.

The show has proved hugely popular, with the final of its third series attracting eight million votes and 12.6 million viewers.

It has helped breed stars such as Shayne Ward and Leona who won a £1,000,000 recording contract.

Viewers will have to tune into ITV over the coming weeks to see Darren who will join 53 other contestants at the luxurious Staveley mansion in Oxfordshire as he battles it out for the first live showdown.