Sweet Jade has made a great impression       

By Euan Duguid MANY celebrities have added spice to The Sunday Post Hospice Challenge but one young starlet from Bellshill has made a truly sweet contribution to our campaign. Young impersonator Jade Boyd stormed through the group stages of Young Impressionist 2002 and made it to the grand final in Planet Hollywood, London.

Jade does her impression of the Queen,  while giving away the sweets.

With 800 contestants and heats held in 17 cities across the UK, Jade’s uncanny impersonations of the Queen, Britney Spears and Chewin’ The Fat characters earned her a year’s supply of sweets from competition sponsor Haribo. But it was a genuine cry of “Gonnae no dae that” when the judges tried to hand over the goodies because Jade has dedicated her sweet success to our campaign by donating the mountain of delicious gums to the children of Rachel House. Jade (15), a pupil at Bellshill Academy who has been dancing and singing since the age of three, said, “I’ve always had ambitions to become a professional actor and I love impersonating TV characters. “My mum and friends seemed to find my impersonations hilarious but I only started doing them seriously when I won an award at the Supercounty talent show in Motherwell Civic Centre. Lorraine Kelly “When I heard about the Haribo contest, I entered by doing an impersonation of Lorraine Kelly over the phone and managed to get through the qualifying stages at George Square.” Jade, who also pulls off a hilarious impression of Mr Bean and Heather Small from M People, explained that although she was thrilled to get so far in the competition, she was always thinking of the children of Rachel House, after reading about them in The Sunday Post. “In London I was competing against the nation’s finest young impressionists in front of a panel of professional judges from the entertainment industry so it was a privilege just to be there and get the runners-up prize. “I feel very lucky to have health and opportunity in my life so I thought that if I could make even the slightest difference to the lives of the children in the hospice, then that would be a good thing. “These kids are so brave and reading about them in The Sunday Post each week really touched my heart and inspired me and I hope I can begin to help them and brighten up their day by giving them the sweets.” Jade’s Mum, Janice, said, “Jade has always been a star and we believe she’ll go far. Her impressions leave you in stitches, but her gesture to CHAS shows her caring and compassionate side as well. “I’m extremely proud of Jade and the fact that she has helped out in such a worthy appeal.”

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