 At the age of 12, she saw an advert in the local newspaper for juvenile dancers and passed the audition.She took to the stage at that age in a pantomime and by the time she was 15 was working with the comedian, and fellow Merseysider, Ted Ray.When she was 16, she answered an advertisement and got a job as a singer in the "New Yorker" club in Southport for £5 a week.