IPSWICH: His cartoons are familiar to tens of thousands of Evening Star readers and his music has a wide following – but now Jock Davies is hoping to prove he has the X Factor.

The 59-year-old is hoping to follow in the footsteps of East Anglian superstars Olly Murs and Matt Cardle in reaching the final stages of the hit TV talent show.

Although the programme does not hit our screens until the summer, Jock has already got past the first audition and is now hoping to get through a further two and get a chance at impressing celebrity judges – who may or may not include Simon Cowell.

Jock, who turns 60 later this year, breezed through the first audition.

He is well-known locally for his Joe Cocker tribute act and has even performed in front of a packed Portman Road when his band produced a re-worked version of “Singin’ the Blues.”

And he’s not going to let fame go to his head: “It was a great day out in London. We queued for hours at the O2 and there were all these helicopters above us filming us.

“We had to do the X thing with our arms and do some silent cheering – that was an experience.”

After being given a golden ticket to come back for the next round of auditions, Jock is already looking forward to the challenge of impressing the X Factor judging panels all over again.

He said: “It would be great to get on television – it would help the bookings no end!

“I’d love to call myself an X Factor finalist rather than an X Factor auditionee!”

And he’s not the only Suffolk singer hoping to reach the big time this year.

He said: “There were thousands of people at the O2, but the people next to me were from Sudbury.

“It’s certainly something that attracts people from a wide area.”

n Are you, or somebody you know, on the road to X Factor glory? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN.