AN East Lancashire music teacher said he was ready to 'work incredibly hard' after impressing on the opening episode of The Voice.

Ryan North, 31, from Belthorn, performed alongside his girlfriend Tania Hambleton, 24, on the opening show of the ITV singing show.

The duo, named RYT, performed their own version of Nizlopi's 'JCB' song to the new judging line up of Olly Murs, Jennifer Hudson, Tom Jones and will.i.am.

In the blind auditions, judges sit with their backs to the stage and decide whether or not to push their button for each at.

Only then do they get to see the act, who can then choose which judge they would like as their mentor.

Ryan, who went to St Wilfrid's CE Academy and now lives in London, has been in a relationship with Tania for around 18 months and met on dating app Bumble.

Three out of the four judges pushed their buttons and spun round on the night, Will.i.am stayed facing the audience.

Ryan said the pair did not expect the reaction they received.

He said: "We didn't think any of the judges would turn around because we were so nervous on the day.

"We were so incredibly happy when three out of four turned around because none of them did at the start.

"It was hard to keep the decision a secret but it was really nice for our friends and family to see our result on the night.

"We need to look forward now and work incredibly hard for the next round."

The pair, who discovered they only lived a few streets apart when they first met, started singing on their first date when Ryan took Tania to an open mic night.

Tania said they really happy Olly pushed his button and was happy to be chosen as their mentor.

She said: "We chose Olly because we think he is the most relatable to use, age wise and music wise.

"We were happy to have any of them as our mentor because they are all complete legends but we are pleased we are on board with Olly.

"Only being together for around a year-and-a-half means we are still finding out lots of things about each other, it's great."

After their performance, judge Olly Murs said: "I loved your spin on it, I loved the harmonies, I could feel nerves in there at the star but listen we can work on that.

"I was the first person to spin so it means I loved it more than everyone else.

"You guys are fantastic and I'm really glad I turned for you guys."