The story of late Ilford pop star Kathy Kirby is now coming to the stage.

The play Kathy Kirby: Icon will remember the life of the “girl who had it all” - the 1960s singing sensation who performed at the Eurovision Song Contest and who had chart hits including Secret Love.

It was commissioned by producer David Donegan and will show at the Camden Fringe festival.

Kathy, a former telephonist at the Recorder, died in May last year following a short illness.

She grew up in Tomswood Hill, Barkingside, and attended SS Peter and Paul’s Catholic Primary School in Gordon Road, Ilford.

She reached the height of her fame in the mid-1960s.

Mr Donegan said: “I thought she deserved an outing.

“A lot of youngsters don’t know her and she was one of the greatest voices of the 1960s.”

The play, written by Tom O’Brien, includes some of Kathy’s songs - “hits from the 1930s to the 1970s” - and will examine Kathy’s “turbulent personal and professional life”.

There are plans for performances at the Brighton Festival and a countrywide tour next year.

It runs August 16 to 20 at the Etcetera Theatre, Oxford Arms, Camden High Street.

Visit www.kathykirby.info for details.