Wha's like us... Nicola Benedetti

ATTRACTIVE, talented, vivacious and smart. It would be very easy to be jealous Nicola Benedetti – if only she wasn't so damned pleasant too.

A former runner-up in Scotland on Sunday's Eligibles list, Benedetti is still just 20, and yet it sometimes feels as though her skills on the violin have been enthralling us forever. This is not without cause: in 1999 she performed at Holyrood Palace's anniversary concert with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland; in 2002, she won the UK Brilliant Prodigy Competition and graduated from the renowned Menuhin School; she was the BBC's Young Musician of the Year in 2004; and when her first album hit the top of the classical charts she was just 16.

As if all this were not enough, Benedetti is also an ambassador for the music charity CLIC/ Sargent and works with Unicef. Last week, at the third time of asking, Benedetti added a Classical Brit to her CV – for Best Young British Classical Performer. It was just the latest in a long list of reasons to be proud of this lass from West Kilbride.