"TONIGHT Matthew, I'm going to be..." Debbie Meldrum, (pictured) from Blackwood, will utter the famous phrase on Saturday night, before disappearing to be transformed into her dad's favourite pop idol - and her namesake. For Debbie will perform as 70s' rock-chick Debbie Harry, of Blondie, in TV's Stars in Their Eyes.

It was an easy choice for the 22-year-old - her dad Robert was once so obsessed with the Blondie singer that he insisted on naming his daughter Debbie as well.

The family live in Fair View, Cefn Fforest, and are getting ready for a large party on Saturday when the programme - recorded back in the summer - is finally screened. Debbie, a former Blackwood Comprehensive pupil and a University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, theatre graduate, originally applied to appear as Britney Spears.

"I sent off a tape and didn't hear anything and I thought no more about it," said Debbie, who is currently living in London.

"But my dad is very obsessed with Debbie Harry and one day my mum heard me singing along to one of her songs and said I sounded really like her. "So we asked my dad and he said the same."

So Debbie sent off another application and was amazed when she was invited to an audition in Bristol, where she sang Blondie's hit single Picture This.

"I was really nervous - terrified in fact - and I really thought that I'd messed it up. My voice was shaking!"

She could hardly believe it when she was invited to a second interview, where she performed Hanging on the Telephone - the number she will be singing on Saturday. This time the audition went better and she heard six weeks later that she had been selected for the show.

It was filmed in June, against four other contestants - including M People's 'Heather Small' and Irish rocker 'Bono'.

Debbie, who is sworn to secrecy about the winner, said filming the show was great fun and that host Matthew Kelly was "lovely".

She and the other contestants got along extremely well, she added, even keeping in touch afterwards.

But Debbie, an aspiring actress, isn't pinning her hopes on finding fame and fortune through appearing on the show. "You do hear about people who get phoned up and offered record deals afterwards - but that's not why I entered. I just really enjoyed myself."

Stars in Their Eyes will be screened on HTV at 6.20pm on Saturday.