Leeds legend Gilda Porcelli who spent decades singing in restaurant Pasta Romagna celebrates 90th birthday

Gilda Porcelli opened the famous Pasta Romagna, on Albion Place, in 1950s.

It is one of the longest-standing restaurants in Leeds, which, in its early days, attracted patrons from far and wide for cheap pizza and Italian tunes.

In her 30 years running the venue, Gilda won the hearts of people in the city and boldly stood up to council officials who tried to put an end to her singing. And at nearly 90 years old, she's showing no signs of stopping.

"I don't have diabetes, I don't have high blood pressure, which is normally automatic at my age. Why? I think it’s because I've been at work all this time,” she said.

Although she now rents Pasta Romagna to new proprietors, Gilda still often visits the city centre, where her son James runs Toast Bar at West Point.

The 89-year-old moved to Leeds from a small village in Apice, a bucolic Italian commune in the province of Benevento, around 50 miles from Naples. The difference in climate was immediately apparent, but there were some welcome changes too.

"I love England," she told the YEP, "because everyone minds their own business! No one interferes with what you do. It might be cold, but it's the best place to live. In Italy, everyone knows what you're doing, there are a lot of nosey parkers!"

Gilda enjoyed spending time in English pubs, which is how she met her late husband Joseph Walker.

In 1957, she was approached to buy Pasta Romagna. The owner wanted £20,000.

"I told them that I didn't have a penny and couldn't afford it," she said. "But I went to the bank and they said, don't worry, we will support you. They trusted me and gave me a loan."

From that day, it became a staple of Leeds dining, leading the way for an explosion in new cafes and restaurants.

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Italian food was still an exotic cuisine for England in the mid-20th century.

While immigrants were setting up shops in the capital in 1930s, it was rare to find pasta or pizza in abundance. Italian cookbooks, for example, were still advising readers where they could pick up rare items like Parmesan cheese in 1950s.

Gilda began serving fresh pasta in her new restaurant - tortellini, ravioli, tagliatelle, spaghetti - but it did not immediately take off. Then came a revelation.

"I said we needed to start making pizza, and boom! We would make a huge pizza and sell it for a pound a slice, so anyone could have it. It was wonderful - and we would sell a lot."

As well as the vibrant Italian fare, Pasta Romagna became famous for Gilda's singing.

She has been a lover of opera since she was a child - and even takes her name from the female protagonist in Verdi's masterpiece Rigoletto. It is evident that her father also had a huge passion for the arts.

Gilda recalled adoring the dramatic arias of La Traviata echoing over the countryside of her childhood, when families from the village would share Sunday dinner.

Her love of opera accompanied her to Pasta Romagna. She would sing loudly and frequently to the delight of customers in the restaurant.

"The best thing about working there was the singing,” she said. “All the time, I would be singing."

But while some would travel from as far afield as Manchester to experience it for themselves, there were a handful who were not as thrilled - the council tried on at least one occasion to put an end to the noise.

However, they had not anticipated the strength of feeling in the city, as the recognisable Italian tunes had, at this point, become a staple of life in Leeds.

Gilda explained: "They said we've had enough of this shouting, but everyone in Leeds was backing me. Everyone loved the music."

Gilda has two daughters and a son, as well as five grandchildren.

She will have a difficult time in deciding which party to attend next month, as a handful of people have offered to throw her a special 90th bash.

Gilda revealed that the secret to a long life is keeping busy.

"I never sit down," she said. "Is it good for your health? I don't know. And I still listen to opera at home. I put it on very, very loudly!"