New BBC show Scotland Sings starring vocal coach who worked with Lewis Capaldi was leap of courage for Invergordon woman struggling with anxiety
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AN INVERGORDON woman struggling with agoraphobia and anxiety said taking part to a new BBC TV show reconnected her to her true passion – singing.
Stephanie Hirst (27), who now lives in Inverness, took a leap of courage when she applied for BBC's new show Scotland Sings in October last year.
"I wasn't really thinking anything would come off it, I had nothing to lose," she told the Inverness Courier.
However, Stephanie, a single mother suffering from anxiety and agoraphobia, made it through and was selected to tale part to Scotland Sings, which will air for the first time on BBC Scotland tomorrow (April 27) at 10pm.
The show sees vocal coach Yvie Burnett – who has worked with the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Susan Boyle and Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol to name a few – putting together a choir of people lacking confidence and who have had set backs in life or feel socially isolated in a bid to show the power of singing and singing together.
After seeing a call for participants on social media, Stephanie decided to apply.
"I was really struggling. I suffer from agoraphobia and social anxiety, and I was just feeling at a very ow point in my life.
"I just saw the post, and I thought – if anything can beat my anxiety, maybe going on a BBC show can make me do it!"
"It was terryfing, I was very close to say no," she said talking about waiting for the selection process.
"Then one afternoon, I receive this call, and it was Yvie, and she asked me to be part of the choir."
Going to Glasgow to film in November and December, and having to part for that from her son Noah France (7) was a hard challenge for Stephanie.
She said: "I felt like I was on a constant panic attack, it almost felt like an out of body experience.
"Because I am by myself most of the time as a single mum, I barely leave my house, so being part of this was huge for me.
"I am really proud to say I managed to go through all this.
"I never felt alone while we were filming, and that really helped me going through the process. I have made friends for life.
Vocal coach Yvie Burnett said:“Stephanie knows that her anxiety and over thinking gets in the way of her using her talent.
"I hope that somehow I managed to persuade her to trust me. I had more confidence in Stephanie than she did in herself . She really needs to be out there singing . She has a talent she shouldn’t be wasting.”
A former student at Invergordon Academy, Stephanie has been a flute player for seven years and had been performing in the East Highland Concert Band in Alness and touring around Europe.
However, she said the show helped her reconnect to her true passion – singing.
"It stopped when I became a mum, and then a single mum, and I had to face new mental health issues.
"I had almost forgotten how much I loved singing. I didn't think I was able to sing. Now that the show is finished, I realise it has really helped me.
"It's made me confident and feel that I can sing. In the way that Yvie has approached me ans talked to me, I felt so heard and understood though the whole process."
Now the show is about to air she said she feels nervous.
"But I am really excited to see it coming to a full circle and to see what happens," she added.
She said that in the future, she hopes she will manage to get some gigs in Inverness, and who knows what will be next?
The first episode of Scotland Sings will be available to view on BBC iPlayer by Friday and it is also being shown on BBC One Scotland on Sunday at 4.35pm, with the second episode going on the BBC Scotland channel on Thursday, May 4 at 10pm (and available on iPlayer then) and shown again on BBC One Scotland the following Sunday.
