A SINGING sensation has spoken of the day Gary Barlow told her he loved her.

Northwich student Sophie Bond made it through to the final 16 girls in this year’s X Factor after she was championed by the Take That heartthrob.

The 17-year-old country music fan, who made it to the second day of boot camp but missed out on the judges’ houses, said Gary thoroughly enjoyed her rendition of Dolly Parton’s classic 9 to 5 at the Liverpool auditions.

“He said ‘I’ve got three words – I love you’,” she said.

“It’s mad to think that I’ve got that far, they must have seen something in me, but when you get down to it the judges said they picked the people who were emotionally ready.”

Sophie, who is studying acting at Mid Cheshire College, said Gary, who was born in Frodsham and used to live in Delamere Manor, in Cuddington, is still proud of his roots.

She said: “I really liked Gary and he liked me because of Cheshire.

“When I was in front of 7,000 people at Wembley at boot camp he said to me ‘tell everyone where you’re from’ and when I said Cheshire he said ‘the capital of the world guys’.”

Appearing on the X Factor was a dream come true for Sophie, who lives in Delamere Street, in Winsford, and went to St Nicholas Catholic High School, in Hartford.

“I’ve sung my whole life and never been old enough to do the X Factor, but this year I was finally old enough,” she said.

“Watching myself get kicked out on the telly was horrible, really sad, and I’m not properly over it.

“I was so close and doing so well and have spent my whole life waiting to do it.

“But I was very lucky for my first time doing it to get so far.”

Sophie plans to concentrate on her college work and keep doing gigs around the north west for the time being, although she has not ruled out attempting the X Factor again in future.

As for her tip on this year’s winner – she is torn between her two X Factor friends Misha Bryan, from Manchester, and Craig Colton, from Liverpool.