Hip-shaking hairdresser who tamed Simon Cowell

Edith Thorley, who runs Edith’s Hair X Press in Clemens Street, is now one of the most talked-about singers on the internet after her flirtatious showdown with Simon Cowell on the popular ITV show, performing as her fiery Spanish-Colombian alter-ego Chica Latina.

And the 44-year-old impressed the judges with her performance of Ike and Tina Turner’s River Deep - Mountain High.

The performance was the headline act on the Saturday night show, and has caught the imagination of the millions who watched it.

Simon Cowell said: “You know how to move don’t you, you know how to use those hips.”

David Walliams added: “We have found a new Diva.

“We’ve had people who are slightly better singers but you were having fun so we were having fun and Simon was even smiling at one point.

“A little bit of the darkness came out of him for just a second.”

With unanimous approval from the panel, Edith is now into the next round of the show, which attracts millions of viewers each weekend.

And the self-confessed fan of Cowell’s not only has ambitions for worldwide fame but she also wants to use her styling skills on the head judge’s infamous barnet.

Edith told the show: “I’ve been singing for a while but I left a choir a long time ago. Now I have the opportunity to show my voice. We’re always dancing in the shop to bring in customers.

“All my customers ask me ‘Edith why don’t you cut Simon’s hair?’ and I say ‘it would be my pleasure’ because we are very famous in Leamington for cutting men’s hair.”

Posters and banners showing support for Edith have been put up at the salon where she works with her sister’s Lorena Dyson, Gloria Chaux and Lina O’Driscoll. Edith was away filming in London for the next stage of the competition this week but on Thursday morning she took some time out of her busy schedule to speak exclusively to The Courier. She said: “It has all been very tense, it is such a massive show and I have to work on something new to make my routine a little bit different.

“I’m not allowed to say much but I should be on the TV again sometime soon, you will have to wait and see when.

“Simon hasn’t let me cut his hair yet but there’s still a few weeks to go so you never know.”

The Courier will be following Edith’s progress as she bids for stardom.