Dame Shirley Bassey is going for Christmas number one.

The 78-year-old star has joined forces with Brit Award-winning classical group Blake and will release a rendition of King Cole's classic 'The Christmas Song' for charity.

Teasing the single, she said: ''I would love to have a Christmas No1.

''Blake sang 'Moon River' at my 70th birthday party, and then we met again at the reception of the charity Variety's 70th anniversary six months ago. Ollie mentioned singing a Christmas song together, and I said I've never done a Christmas song before.''

The 'Goldfinger' hitmaker and the boyband - comprising of Ollie Baines, Humphrey Berney and Stephen Bowman - plan to donate the proceeds to London based charity Variety as well as the The Noah's Ark Children's Hospital in Cardiff.

The iconic singer had her first hit in 1958 with 'The Banana Boat Song' while her last chart topper was 'Reach For The Stars' in 1961.

William Hill have already slashed odds on the 'Big Spender' singer fulfilling her dream from 25/1 to 10/1 and she's confident the Christmas cover - first recorded in 1946 - will wow fans old and new.

She added: ''I was quite overwhelmed because it just fits my voice so well. I was amazed how well our voices blended.''