A SINGER from Bury is seeking fame for the second time in the latest stages of the X Factor show tonight.

Rowetta Satchell, 38, is a favourite to win through to the final in the over 25s category judged on the hit ITV1 show by Simon Cowell.

But she has already achieved success in the 1990s as a singer with Manchester band the Happy Mondays and is hoping to give her career a new lease of life by winning the million pound record deal on offer as the X Factor's first prize.

Rowetta was a young mother-of-two when she joined the Happy Mondays in 1990, at a time when the group had yet to break into the big time.

She sang on the single "Step On" which went to number five in the charts, and then toured the world with the band for the next three years.

The Happy Mondays broke up in 1993 and then re-formed a couple of times but the final split came in 2000 when Rowetta had a massive bust-up with lead singer Shaun Ryder on board a ferry on the way to a concert in Ireland.

Rowetta played herself in the film 24 Hour Party People, which recounted the Happy Mondays' chaotic career.

She has also worked as a DJ and it has been reported that other contestants on the programme are unhappy that she has already enjoyed success as a singer and is now competing against wannabe amateurs.

Extrovert

But producers have insisted that the show is open to anyone.

More than seven million viewers have been tuning in to see the extrovert singer impress the judges.

She has been placed with eight other contestants in the over 25s group and tonight viewers will see them judged by Cowell at his own home.

If she reaches the top three of the category, Rowetta will be pitched against the winners of the under 25s and the best group categories in a live final which is judged by the viewers' vote.

The final will be screened next Saturday.

While bookmakers have placed Rowetta among the favourites, they are not so keen on Rossendale hopeful 16-year-old Megan Charelle Ramsay, who is quoted at odds of 9/2 to win through in the under 25s category judged by Sharon Osbourne.

An X Factor spokesman said Rowetta has already overcome her biggest challenge - by impressing the hard-to-please Simon Cowell.

"Simon thinks Rowetta is an amazing singer with a brilliant voice.

"She is such a character, such a loose cannon", she said.