AN 85-year-old woman has fulfilled her dream of meeting her idol, singer Michael Ball.

Edna Morris, of Melrose Avenue, Burnley, said she was still ‘high as a kite’ after getting VIP access to meet the West End singer at his concert at Blackpool Opera House.

Edna, who has been a fan of the star for 12 years, spent half an hour with 12 other guests chatting to the singer, having photographs taken with him and was even given a hug and a peck on the cheek.

In the 10 years she has been a member of the Michael Ball fan club she has collected huge amounts of memorabilia including four photograph albums full of pictures of Michael, calendars, fan club Christmas cards and has been to around 30 concerts.

She was selected to meet the star and get VIP treatment after taking part in a competition through the Michael Ball fan club.

Edna said: “I couldn’t believe it when I was told I was going to be able to meet him face to face. Me and my late husband Jack had been fans for years.

“I have been to concerts and other events where he has been appearing but never spoken to him before.

“He is a good looking chap, even though he is many years younger than me. I had my hair done before the concert to look my best for meeting him.

”I’m still as high as a kite after meeting Michael. He was so lovely, he just gets better with age.

“We were taken backstage to meet him in a private room where we sat with him while we asked him questions and had photographs taken with him.

“When it was my turn to talk to him he couldn’t believe it when I said I was called Edna because he has just finished playing a character called Edna in Hairspray.

“The whole evening was just brilliant, I couldn’t have asked for anymore.”

Evergreen Edna is used to her turn in the spotlight though, as she ran the Masonic Hall in Pontrefract with her husband for 18 years, after he retired as a postman.

Edna has four daughters, Wendy, Brenda, Jennifer and Amanda, and one son, Christopher, and she is a grandmother-of-seven and great-grandmother to six.