AN amateur artist from Widnes has beat hundreds of others to compete in a televised art series for the chance to paint Sir Tom Jones' portrait.

Catherine Noone, 21, will be featured in the seventh and penultimate heat of this year's Portrait Artist of the Year airing on March 26 on Sky Arts.

The show is presented by actor and art-lover Stephen Mangan, alongside Joan Bakewell, who guide artists as they paint celebrity portraits, including Angela Griffin, Gina McKee and Jamael Westman.

The winner from this heat will join the seven other heat winners to paint British Jazz legend Courtney Pine MBE in the semi-final.

Those through to the final will paint Hollywood actress and singer Laura Linney at the National Portrait Gallery.

The overall winner will be commissioned to paint the portrait of Sir Tom Jones, which will hang in the permanent collection at The National Museum of Wales.

Stephen Mangan said: "I was delighted to join Joan [Bakewell] for the return of Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year.

"Together, we have seen some incredible artists come through the ranks and it has been fascinating to see their portraits of our celebrity sitters come to life.

"Painting done well is a kind of magic, painting done by me is a crime - so it was both a privilege and a relief to watch artists with genuine talent work their magic."

This is the fifth series of the show, which is produced by Storyvault Films.