TWO Burnley youngsters have launched a bid to be the next French and Saunders after wowing Disney bosses with their gags.

Briercliffe county primary school pupils Tarciana Peel and Hannah Wood, both nine, will travel to London this weekend for the final of a comedy contest organised by the American film company.

The funnygirls beat off competition from thousands of other young hopefuls after Tarciana sent jokes to judges of the competition, launched to coincide with the launch of the Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata.

The girls' performance will be filmed at a masterclass run by a professional comedian and shown at an awards ceremony in the Hard Rock Cafe in London this weekend.

The girls will be accompanied on their trip by Tarciana's mum Alegria, 36, of Reedley Farm Close.

She said: "I'm really surprised that they have done so well and I'm really proud of both girls.

"Tarciana is a real joker and she's always making people laugh. She goes to Burnley Youth Theatre and she seems to really enjoy performing.

"She's very good at doing different voices and changing her voice to make people laugh and she's very clever at coming out with funny things out of nowhere.

"Maybe she will make a career out of comedy but we would never want her to do anything she wasn't happy with so we will have to wait and see.

Disney spokesman Caroline Spivey said: "The film contains some side-splitting fun and giggles and represents a great opportunity for children to get in touch with their funny sides. In the film it's Timon and Pumbaa's time to shine so why not give the kids a chance to shine too?"