Penarth's got talent!

Saturday saw the grand finale of the 2008 Penarth's Got Talent competition, held over the previous two Saturdays at the Paget Rooms.

The evening event, which was opened by town mayor Councillor Gwyn Roberts and compered by local actor Jay Excell, introduced a number of talented hopefuls.

A sell-out crowd was treated to a wide range of acts in the categories of music and song, drama and dance, and poetry and prose, all hoping to be crowned 2008 winners in their categories.

The judges - local broadcaster Phil Carradice, actress Rhian Davies and music producer Danny Chang - provided fair and constructive comments on each entry.

And, after a great show from the 13 finalists and a nail-biting build-up, the winners were revealed.

Local band The Brickhouse secured first place in the music category.

Sam Harries and Jonathan Ford-Evans finished top in the drama and dance section for their performance of a Rowan Atkinson sketch entitled Elementary Dating for Men.

Elle Turpitt won the poetry and prose category for her short story Crash and Burn.

The deserving winners were treated to a huge round of applause and received their prizes of £100 in the drama section; a weekend creative writing course for the poetry and prose winner; and a recording session at the Wales Millennium Centre Ty Cerdd recording studio for the music and song winners.

The event sponsors included: Starbucks, Academi, Ty Newydd, Ty Cerdd, Immanuel Church, Gamlins, and Danny Chang Music.

Event organisers are now planning for the talent show to become an annual competition.

For more information about the show visit: www.penarthsgottalent.com