Berrylands’ Tamiko Dooley is a finalist in a nationwide competition to come up with a new Christmas Carol.

The BBC challenged the public to create a tune for the words of Christina Rossetti’s poem Love Came Down At Christmas.

There were nearly 1,000 entries which have been whittled down to six by the judges. You can listen to the carols (Tamiko’s entry is number 2 on the list) and vote for your favourite by searching on the internet for Breakfast – Radio 3 Christmas Carol Competition 2021 – BBC. Voting closes on Tuesday, December 21 at 6pm.

Tamiko, who started playing the piano when she was young and continued throughout school and university, said she had more time during lockdown to go back to her hobby.

“I came across the competition on the BBC website and thought I’d try writing a melody. This has encouraged me to continue songwriting in all forms!” she said.

The winner will be announced during Radio 3’s Breakfast show on Wednesday, December 22.