A ST ASAPH barmaid is hoping to make the final of a prime-time BBC dance contest.
Mandy Montanez, a former resident of Bishops Walk, is battling it out with five other dancers to make the final of So You Think You Can Dance and be crowned one of Britain's top dancers.
Mandy, who worked at The Plough Inn, met husband Stewart Rutherford, 29, from St Asaph, while dancing on a cruise ship.
The couple now live in London.
Former Denbigh High pupil Stewart said: "It has been very exciting and at the moment very stressful, particularly when she has been dancing for her life, which has not been fun.
"I think she is in with a shot, but everyone left in the show is really strong. We are praying people will vote for her. She has been getting some really strong responses from the judges."
Mandy is originally from Maryland in the United Stated and trained at the Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Company in Chicago.
She said: "I got into dance through gymnastics. I was quite young when I started, and it gave me a great strength base and flexibility
"I've made some really good friends on the show. Everyone is so different, it's like a psychological experiment – I love it.
"I entered the show for a challenge. To see how far I could go and what I could do. And because it's stressful and exciting – I crave that in my life."
Mandy has worked on the X Factor live shows was one of the lead dancers in Cheryl Cole's music video Three Words.
Stuart said: "I help choose the music for her performances on the show and then Mandy and her friend come up with the choreography.
"If she wins she wants to open her own dance school, but she is going to dance professionally until the time is right."
So You Think You Can Dance, BBC One, Saturday, 7.05pm.