Salsa gran vies for 100,000-euro prize

Stourbridge's Spanish salsa sensation was today due to take to the floor for a routine which could net the grandmother a life-changing 100,000 euros.

Sarah Jones, better known as Paddy, and dance partner Nicko Espinosa are in Barcelona where they will appear in the final of the Spanish version of Britain's Got Talent. The show goes out live at 11pm local time.

The 75-year-old, whose performances have attracted 300,000 hits on the video-sharing website YouTube, says the money could make a "huge difference" to her life which has already been transformed by her success.

Mother-of-four Paddy and Nicko, who is 40 years her junior, have prepared a new dance for the final which they hope will deliver the top prize on Tu Si Que Vales which translates as You Are Worth It in English.

The pair will be up against four winners from other shows.

Paddy, who used to run Paddy's Fabrics in Victoria Passage in Stourbridge before moving to Spain, said: "We hope we can wow the judges. We have been working on some new lifts, we have got some beautiful costumes and hopefully our routine will go well.

"I rely totally on Nicko. What he says goes on the dancefloor. There are certain acrobatics I can't do at my age but what we do tonight will be up to him.

"I'm sure we'll manage. And as usual, we will both have smiles on our faces."

Speaking from the Hotel St Just in Barcelona ahead of the programme, Paddy said her new-found fame had come as a total shock.

"When I first went to dance with Nicko I thought it would just be a few shows locally, then we went further afield to clubs elsewhere in Spain.

"We carried on into Europe and then beyond, it just took off. I cannot believe the number of hits we have had on YouTube, it's just astronomical and beggars belief. It's been unreal with people recognising me in the street."

Paddy, who has seven grandchildren, added her family was "absolutely over the moon" about her taste of stardom and would be cheering her on during tonight's performance.