A young female songwriter is overjoyed at receiving a special commendation in a national competition for emerging musical theatre writers.

Tamar Broadbent, 23, from Ashtead, was the only solo female composer in the finals of the Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize presented at London’s Garrick Theatre earlier this month.

Ms Broadbent, who teaches at Dandelion Theatre Arts, was also the youngest songwriter in the competition judged by renowned musical writing duo George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. 

Ms Broadbent said she was thrilled the judges added a special commendation prize at the last minute which gave her £250 for her musical projects.

She said: "Being a part of this competition was important to me because there are countless male writers involved in new musical theatre, and yet there only seem to be a handful of female composers and lyricists around.

"I am proud of my achievement and hope that it can encourage other young female songwriters to pursue their ambitions in a field which is currently saturated by men."

Ms Broadbent composed her song 17 Drafts while studying at Bristol University and it was chosen from hundreds of entries.

She said: "To see that song being performed on a West End stage, and receiving second prize in a national competition, was a huge honour and a enormous achievement for me at such an early stage in my career."

Ms Broadbent is currently putting together a musical comedy show which she will perform at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.