Sally Dawson's biggest fan on her Fame Academy debut will be a girl who's already been there, seen it and sung it - none other than Kimberley Walsh.

The Girls Aloud star and 26-year-old Sally went to the same schools in Bradford and even starred in a Stage '84 drama school production.

And by a strange twist of fate, Kimberley's sister Sally Walsh is one of Fame Academy wannabe Sally Dawson's best chums.

Sally has been chosen out of thousands of hopefuls to be one of only 26 talented singers hoping to become the BBC's Fame Academy winner, with all the trappings of fame and wealth it brings.

"Kimberley will be watching and voting if she can on the night," said Sally Walsh. "Sally has a brilliant voice and has been singing for as long as we have known her.

"We were all together at a wedding at the weekend and Kimberley found out. It is really strange that two people in such a close circle should be involved in these shows.

"There must be something in the water!"

Kimberley and Sally also both worked together as waitresses at Salts Diner in Saltaire.

Restaurant manager Nigel Kay, said: "Sally was here for five years and was always entering competitions, always chasing the dream.

"She and Kimberley overlapped here for about 18 months. Of course, we'll all be voting for Sally and wish her all the best.

"Soon, there'll only be me still having work here!"

Sally's big break for Fame Academy comes on Saturday, August 2, when she takes part in the third heat.

Voters get to vote for a final 13 who will make it into a mansion bidding to win a recording contract and a superstar lifestyle for a year like last year's winner David Sneddon. Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty will co-present the show.

And Sally Walsh reckons Sally, 26, of Cottingley, is in with a great chance.

" She has a brilliant voice," she said. "But what is so good about her is her personality. If the public see that they will really take to her."

The Walsh girls and Sally all went to Sandy Lane First, Stoney Lee Middle and Beckfoot schools.

After school, Sally learned hairdressing and beauty.

But actress Sally Walsh - soon to star in a TV comedy/drama Between the Sheets - reckons it was just something for her to fall back on if she didn't make it big in showbiz.

"She has been up and down to London to see record companies a lot. Maybe this will be the chance she needs."

Sally had been under pressure to keep her involvement in the show a secret until yesterday when the BBC unveiled the names of the 25 who would be battling it out for a place in the Academy.

Sally Walsh said: "She must be a little bit nervous, and quite excited by it all. Kimberley will be watching and voting if she can."

Sally's former stage manager at Stage '84, Elizabeth Hellmich, recalls her being very nervous at an audition.

"I remember her holding a piece of paper and one hand was holding the other to keep it steady.

"She was pretty but she also had quite a soft voice then.

"And she was not one of those who are constantly in your face.

"She is very pleasant and just got on with what she did. Some are "look at me, I can sing" but she was never like that."

Sally played the lead role in the award-winning musical Ellis - about Jewish immigrants arriving in the USA and how they settled into life in their new country.

In the same production was Kimberley - five years younger - also an up and coming star of the future.