Sophie Mei

Sheffield’s got the Cabaret factor

Reality TV – love it or hate it – we’ve all got the X Factor bug. I hate it – and the more I do, the more I want to watch it – I hate hating it!

It’s even more spine-chilling when you’ve been through the whole grueling process from queueing up in the cold with other erm ‘unique’ artistes and auditioning in front of various producers, camera people and researchers. You really do have to give it your all for a few months but it is SO worth it.

And since selling my own soul on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent I’ve got to do some amazing and fun things like judging ‘Sheffield’s Got Talent.’ This year, it was held at The Walnut Club in Hathersage, a nice cosy restaurant that serves tasty food, the best Champers and plays host to live jazz musicians on Saturdays.

The judges were Richard Mills – owner of The Walnut Club (aka Simon Cowell), myself – Sophie Mei (Amanda Holden – I wish!) and Roop Mullin – owner of Double Seven Events Company (Piers Morgan).

The night comprised of six acts that ranged from an acoustic guitar set to a John Travolta tribute act plus a surprise late addition to the line-up…

The drag act arrived in a late panic amidst the rain, on his push bike, after getting lost, needless to say his blonde wig and ‘wheel of fun’ was still intact.

However, there was one clear winner of the night and that was eighteen year-old Jessica Hobson (daughter of Sheffield-based boxing promoter, Dennis Hobson) who I first met as we both performed on the Sheffield Wednesday pitch for charity.

She treated us to a spine tingling rendition of Michael Buble (the gorgeous man who will be performing in Sheffield next year).

I presented her with a bottle of Champagne and she has been invited to perform professionally at The Walnut Club.

It was a lovely intimate evening of cabaret entertainment accompanied with posh Fish & Chips and tasty desserts.

Roop Mullin – the nice Piers Morgan of the night said;

“Sheffield’s Got Talent was a really valuable project to Doub7e Seven Events. We discovered some outstanding vocalists and we can’t wait to inform our clients about them! Doub7e Seven provide “unique add-ons” for corporate events, charity balls and private parties such as bands, discos, fun casinos, magicians and theme entertainers. Our artist portfolio continues to expand and it is thanks to initiates like Sheffield’s Got Talent! A huge thanks to my fellow ‘judges’ from the competition – Sophie Mei and The Walnut Club’s Richard Mills – who injected the fun, feel-good factor into an exceptional evening!”

The reality factor – You may hear some stars criticize talent shows and reality TV for making talentless people famous but most people who go on have some sort of talent, whether that be personability, charisma or the voice of an angel, these shows are important especially for those of us who aren’t brought up by Pappa Nutini or Mamma Cass.

Bosom Buddies – Sophie Mei meets Gail Porter at Celebrity Fashion show.

Sophie Mei entertained the crowds at a Celebrity Fashion Show hosted by Gail Porter in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Sheffield’s Sophie Mei was invited to open one of the North’s most exclusive fashion show’s organized by Banana Fish Management and held in Liverpool last night.

Our Sophie launched the evening with her famous bellydance set and graced the catwalk with her large gold Isis wings. She also modelled three outfits ranging from glamorous eveningwear to a punk snood look for FAB and Mark Melia Designs.

Sophie spent the night chatting with Gail Porter and her new boyfriend 25 year-old Johnny… they were joined by Sophie’s agent Louise Wilcockson of Creative Octopus Media Services.

Gail Porter of  said;

“I was really pleased that I was invited to host an event for such a great cause and I’m so happy that we’ve raised thousands!”

Sophie Mei said;

“It was a great night and we all had so much fun but what’s more important is that we raised lots of money and hopefully raised awareness around Cystic Fibrosis.”

“Gail Porter’s a real inspiration too as not only has she had her own battles in life but now she devotes 50% of her time to charitable causes. She is a gorgeous person and a very talented presenter. My agent Louise and I got on really well with her and we’ll definitely be meeting up soon.”

It’s unlikely that will forget Sophie after they became literally joined at the bosom whilst having photo’s taken for OK magazine.

“I was so excited to be with Gail that I had my arm around her but forgot that my bellydance outfit has jewels all over it and my costume bra got caught to her lace top – but luckily the organizer, Joanne Jones, managed to untangle us as the photographers snapped away!”

Along with Sophie Mei and Gail Porter, Celebrity guests included soap stars from Emmerdale and Hollyoaks, such as local boy Jay, whose family are based in Sheffield.

The evening raised thousands of pounds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. To hear Sophie’s exclusive chat with Gail Porter log on to: http://thestar.co.uk/blog

PHOTOS: Sophie Mei, Gail Porter, Johnny and CF survivor

AUDIO: Sophie Mei gets up close and personal with Gail

The new ‘Femtrepreneurs’

There are currently 1 million self-employed women in the country and it is believed that in one year this will increase by 100% making it 2 million.

Grazia magazine recently reported that it is essential to find “The One” business partner to ensure long-term success. However, in a society where women are infamous for their ‘bitchiness’ nature – is it really possible to succeed as a partnership?

Louise WIlcockson of Creative Octopus Media Services and my ‘The One’ says;

“Yes definitely – me and Sophie are not only best friends but our business rapport is fabulous. Our work within the media also mixes pleasure and business so it’s great that we can stay together through it all.”

And I certainly agree. We are a solid partnership that first met through our full-time jobs in the media and we instantly got on well on a professional level.

It was only when we both jumped ship and went self-employed that we became friends as well as business partners.

Louise’s work in PR and the media complements my passion for journalism and turning my bellydancing skills into a business.

So what is the secret to having a good ‘femtrepreneurship’?

We both are passionate, flexible and quietly determined. You have to love and believe in what you do. We have fun and enjoy mixing business with pleasure – we work to live.

And how can we complain when one minute we’re modelling on the catwalk and the next were pretending to be popstars?!

Sophie’s Sheffield – A week at The Star
I feel privileged to be sat in the The Star office and it seems amazing how things have changed since I first visited the place on a school trip, ten years ago, when there was even a pressing machine – The Star’s very first edition was published back in 1887!
Not only was it bizarre how much the place had changed but how much I have changed from my schooldays. Graham Walker kindly introduced me to lots of the journalists such as, Martin Dawes, Jo Davison and Fiona Firth – all of whom I’ve spoken to over the phone or email – so it was nice putting faces to names – although a little embarrassing as I was in my journalistic mode and out of my bellydancing gear.
- Starting to scribble
I was given the opportunity to write articles such as this and set up my own blog. This will give me a great opportunity to share things of interest to others and I -within the Sheffield area.
- Sports reports
On my second day at the office, I got to grips with the digital team and learnt how they used different media to upload online from audio to video footage.
We then went off to English Institute of Sport (bizarre again being there in a different capacity as I’m normally playing sports or dancing). The atmosphere and scrum of media felt like the Prime Minister was coming for a visit but it was in fact Seb Coe or should I say Lord Coe?
He was whisked around the EIS and unveiled the Hall of Champions, which features Jessica Ennis who also attended the event – it was true celebration of Sheffield’s Golden girl and boy.
We then caught up with Seb Coe at his old school Tapton. He seemed confident and at ease as he sat surrounded by journalists in his old headmasters chair.
He came across very personable and spoke of his and Jess’ achievements as well as his involvement of promoting the Olympics in Sheffield.
I too had a chance to reminisce this week …
Looking back through The Star archives of the year when I was born – 1988. I am fascinated at how little news has changed since Easter weekend 1988. Over 21 years ago when headlines read; ‘School leavers with A-levels face gloomy job prospects, ’ ‘All aboard for a trip on a tram’ and ‘Sheffield plans culture festival.’ However, gone are The Star as a broadsheet newspaper and unfortunately the sports headlines have changed; ‘Owls on Mark – Blades hit for 6’ – when Sheffield Wednesday were flying high in Division One and Sheffield United struggling away in Division two. I guess being brought up near Hillsborough you can guess where my bias lies.
It has been a great experience discovering more about the history and team behind Sheffield’s most successful newspaper and to taste some of the diverse activities that take place in and around Sheffield.
The highlight of the week was my final day where we recorded a single at Miss B’s Studio in Barnsley. It was lots of fun pretending to be a pop star for the morning and recording our own track along with a very brief attempt at a music video.
It has been particularly interesting working with the digital team as a majority of news is now uploaded online through audio, pictures and video.
I will be regularly updating my blog on The Star website and reporting on some of the exciting things happening in and around Sheffield.

The new ‘Femtrepreneurs’
There are currently 1 million self-employed women in the country and it is believed that in one year this will increase by 100% making it 2 million.
Grazia magazine recently reported that it is essential to find “The One” business partner to ensure long-term success. However, in a society where women are infamous for their ‘bitchiness’ nature – is it really possible to succeed as a partnership?
Louise WIlcockson of Creative Octopus Media Services and my ‘The One’ says;
“Yes definitely – me and Sophie are not only best friends but our business rapport is fabulous. Our work within the media also mixes pleasure and business so it’s great that we can stay together through it all.”
And I certainly agree. We are a solid partnership that first met through our full-time jobs in the media and we instantly got on well on a professional level.
It was only when we both jumped ship and went self-employed that we became friends as well as business partners.
Louise’s work in PR and the media complements my passion for journalism and turning my bellydancing skills into a business.
So what is the secret to having a good ‘femtrepreneurship’?
We both are passionate, flexible and quietly determined. You have to love and believe in what you do. We have fun and enjoy mixing business with pleasure – we work to live.
And how can we complain when one minute we’re modelling on the catwalk and the next were pretending to be popstars?!
Find out how Louise transformed from a PR superstar in to a catwalk model next time…