A young Alexandria double act gave the performance of their lives in the battle rounds The Voice Kids on ITV at the weekend.

Ava MacFarlane, nine, and Alfie King, 11, unfortunately just missed out on a spot in the semi-finals as coach will.i.am faced a tough decision about who to send through.

The local duo, Anniesland’s Peyton Chu and rapper Lil Shan Shan went head to head as part of Team Will, singing See You Again by Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa, before the American named Lil Shan Shan as the winner.

Friends and family headed down to London to cheer on the Vale pair at Elstree Studios for the pre-recorded show earlier this year and, despite the result, Alfie’s mum Tracy King told the Reporter the best friends had a ball taking part in the competition.

Read more: Alexandria's Ava and Alfie in running for West Dunbartonshire award after Voice Kids appearance

She said: “It was filmed in February, but we have been sworn to secrecy since then. They have made friends for life.

“Alfie said Will was just like a big kid himself. He just got them and knew all of the kids names.

“We are delighted that people got to see the real Ava and Alfie. Their wee personalities shone through and the way they came across on the telly is exactly what they are like. They both get on so well.”

The pair will be heading back down to London later this month to watch the show’s final and have plenty to look forward to closer to home with a host of gigs lined up and the Provost’s Civic Awards on August 30 where they will find out if they have been named winners in the arts and culture category.

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Tracey added: “They will be performing at the Beats and Eats Festival in Helensburgh, at care homes, doing a couple of radio appearances, going to the provost awards, and they have a couple of secret singing things that we have been sworn to secrecy about.

“The support and feedback from West Dunbartonshire and beyond has been amazing.”