Black Country Bingo Caller Kelly's numbers come up as she qualifies for national final for Mecca

She has been crowned Mecca Bingo's Caller of the Year after wowing an expert judging panel with her on point calling and line dancing skills.

Kelly, aged 46, has been a caller at Mecca's club on the High Street in Brierley Hill for 17 years and took part in the brand's national final in Wednesbury where six seasoned veterans from across the UK went head to head having battled their way through a series of heats.

Callers were assessed on personality and stage presence, bingo calling skills, audience engagement and other talents.

Kelly impressed the judges in the heats with her enthusiasm, rapport with customers and interactive line dancing skills.

In the final, she called a perfect game of bingo, before getting the crowd up and dancing to a remix of the Ben E King Classic Stand by Me.

Now she will represent Mecca at the grand final of the National Bingo Game caller of the year competition in Wakefield in November where she will compete with callers from other bingo brands and hope to take over from reigning champion rapping caller Benj Maycock from Mecca Wednesbury.

On winning the vote, Kelly said: "The atmosphere at the final was fantastic. The other callers were amazing and everyone was so supportive.

“I started doing line dancing for fun and a bit of exercise. It’s really accessible – anyone who can walk four steps can learn how to line dance. I was nervous at the final but when I started playing the music, the audience jumped up and joined in straight away.

“Bingo calling is great fun, and a huge part of my life. In my spare time I also volunteer at the Wollescote Community Centre, and it was there I realised I could use my line dancing to get everyone moving. Everyone at the centre is really proud that it’s won me the Mecca title.”

"I hope I’ve done Brierley Hill proud and can’t wait to celebrate with our customers.”

Andy Crump, managing director of Mecca Bingo said: “Our bingo callers have a hugely important role to play in delivering brilliant entertainment experiences for our customers.

"They create the atmosphere for every game, make sure that every customer is engaged, announce all our lucky winners and most definitely help to create exciting memories for all our players.

"In addition to clear voices and top calling skills, the judging panel was looking for big personality and talent.

"We found that in Kelly and we’ll be backing her all the way when she represents us in Yorkshire in November.”