YAEL Eardley-Dutton is still considering a career in politics - despite falling at the first hurdle.

ITV's Vote for Me, screened each night this week at 11pm, has seen aspiring politicians compete before a panel of judges for the chance to stand as an MP at the next general election.

Yael, from Elton, was one of 14 contestants to make it through to the final week out of 250 applications, before being knocked out on Monday.

But Yael (37) is determined to forge a path into politics and is now considering whether to stand as a local councillor or MP in future elections.

She explained: "I saw the opportunity and thought maybe I can make a difference. It was interesting to try something to see how far I could go.

"I've always been interested in politics, both national and wider, and always voted. I got to the stage where I was looking for something else to do and thought now might be the time to stand up and be counted."

Yael, who works as a director of operations for BARDOC - Bury And Rochdale Doctors On Call - auditioned for the programme by sending in a manifesto of 500 words outlining her views on the issues she was interested in.

She claimed that, if elected, she would support the right for 16-year-olds to vote, the removal of VAT on sanitary products, assisted suicide, improvements to the organ donation programme by introducing a national donation and transplant service, and legalising prostitution.

In November, Yael was invited for the next round of auditions, where she spoke to the judges, including former ITV political editor John Sergeant and former editor of The Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, for one minute on an issue of her choice as well as try and grab their attention in a 30-minute meet-and-greet to talk about her views.

Yael admits she found that half-hour an "interesting" experience: "There were 25 of us who had made it through to that round and we were all trying to get our views across. Each judge had about 10 people surrounding them, vying for attention. It was an interesting experience - especially when one candidate supporting the legalisation of prostitution decided to take her top off!"

The contestants were whittled down to 14 before the final seven were chosen to compete for the viewers vote this week.

Despite Yael not making the final seven, she said: It has been a fabulous, challenging experience and was refreshing to hear such a varied collection of views."

She added: "Politics is something I would like to continue and I am taking some time to review whether to stand as an independent MP or if I would be more successful joining a political party. I may also look at the local council and see if standing as a councillor may be the best way forward."

The winning candidate will be announced in tonight's live show.