A singing ventriloquist from Borehamwood wowed the judges on ITV's The X Factor by performing her audition for the hit talent show without moving her lips.

And that's not all that amazed the panel, which included Elstree-born pop mogul Simon Cowell, as her name is Shelly Factor.

Ms Factor, from Theobald Street, Borehamwood, auditioned for the TV show along with thousands of hopefuls at Wembley conference centre in May, but despite impressing judges with her extraordinary ability, she did not make it to the next round.

The 37-year-old science teacher moonlights as a singer in a rock band called Invisible Dog and is also one half of the female singing duo Andante.

She said: "I found I could speak without moving my lips, and I have a passion for singing and do it semi-professionally. I developed the skill because I do a lot of practise in my car and when I got to traffic lights I didn't want people to see this person with their mouth open and their eyes closed singing.

"I was determined to get through to the third audition stage (in front of Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne) and I figured I would have more of a chance if I did something comical than if I sang normally.

"The first thing Simon Cowell said was what is your name?' and he couldn't believe it when I said I was Shelly Factor. When I started singing the judges just sat there with their mouths open. Sharon Osbourne said you could make a fortune doing something like that' and Simon was very complimentary. He told me you've definitely got a talent there' which coming from him is really good."

Ms Factor said the four hour wait for an audition was worth it to see the judges' reaction and she also appeared on ITV 2's The Xtra Factor, which was aired on Saturday night. "Mrs Osbourne gave me a sock puppet to work with and they also filmed me introducing the Xtra Factor with gaffer tape over my mouth. It's the first time I've performed in public and judging by the reaction, it's something I'd consider pursuing. My family and friends were stunned and my pupils have been lovely, they say it's the nearest they've got to someone famous. It was wonderful and exciting and it makes a change from teaching."