A singer who will be thrown into the spotlight on the first live shows of a primetime TV talent contest said she is “overwhelmed” by the local support she has received.

Lauren Bannon-Hayes, from Weymouth, is preparing to sing in front of millions of viewers in the semi-final of The Voice UK this weekend.

In the first live show of the competition, the 12 remaining acts will sing in the hope of becoming one of the lucky four who make it through to the final – and their fate lies in the hands of the public.

Lauren, 27, has been busy with the show’s creative team this week preparing for her performance on Saturday night.

She said: “I’m really excited, it’s been incredible. I feel like I’ve come such a long way as an artist and this week will show what I can do artistically.

“The great thing about this part of the competition is we’re getting so much more involvement.”

Speaking about her relationship with her coach, the pop star Olly Murs, Lauren said: “He’s been really hands on, I saw him on Tuesday and he’s messaged me saying ‘you’re smashing it’. He’s been fantastic, I’ve picked the right coach.”

As well as backing from her mentor, Lauren has also received a raft of support from people across Dorset.

She has started using the Twitter hashtag ‘#doitfordorset’ and is urging other people to get involved.

She said: “It’s so overwhelming, but it’s really wonderful. Dorset’s not a big place but we really get behind our own which is lovely for me.

“I’m just so grateful for the amount of support that everyone has given me.”

Lauren made it through to the semi-finals after blowing judges away in the knockout stage with her performance of Imagine Dragons’s Believer.

Speaking on the show, Olly Murs said: “In Lauren I see a fighter, this is everything to her.”

She was the first contestant of the new series to have all four judges invite her to their team following the blind audition round.

Rendezvous in Weymouth will be screening The Voice when it airs at 8.30pm on Saturday, during the town’s Quayside Music Festival.

In a Facebook post, the pub said: “It’s really nice to have one of Dorset’s local talents and one of Rendezvous's regular performers recognised on such a big stage and Lauren is doing an amazing job representing Weymouth’s incredible live music scene.

“Let's all get behind our local singing beauty and get Lauren to the final!”