X Factor star's exclusive interview

It's been an emotional rollercoaster," – Charlie Mole's words as she finally has the time to curl up on the couch with her family.
The 23-year-old has been put through her paces as a pop star over the past months – going from a beauty therapist mum-of-one to hitting the headlines as a singing star.

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"It feels weird to be back to be honest," she said.

"But it feels amazing being back with my family and picking my son up from school. That's been the hardest thing – being away from him.

"When he came down to watch the show he always got so upset when he had to leave. It broke my heart."

Charlie's X Factor dream began in February, when she travelled to London for the first round of auditions.

But after getting through the next stages as a solo artist, her dream was nearly over before it had begun when she was told she had not got through to the live shows.

But in a lucky twist, judge Louis Walsh decided to give her a second chance, along with four others, and Hope was formed.

They saw off thousands to become one of the final 12 acts in the popular ITV show, and battled their way through to the final five.

Charlie, a former St Anthony's School pupil, said: "Getting through to the live shows at Marbella was definitely one of the best moments.

"Singing Umbrella and Back to Black on the live shows were also big highs. I was crying this morning watching it back.

"When I look back at the journey we've had, it's been such an emotional rollercoaster – from starting as a solo artist and then going into band auditions."

She added: "The press we've had has been really tough to take, with people saying it was all a fix and then people posting nasty things on websites.

"It's so hard to see a headline that says Hope-less."

Mum Lesley, 48, has been with her every step of the way, along with Charlie's fiancé Lee Daglish, who have both travelled to London every weekend to support her.

Lesley said: "From a mum's point of view I'm so proud I could not put it into words. Watching all the episodes back, she's grown from a young girl at bootcamp to a groomed, confident, stunning young woman.

"I cannot believe how far she's come.

"Before she had absolutely no confidence whatsoever and I cannot believe every week she has stood in front of 12million people with no visible signs of nerves, and the girls have been so gracious week in week out."

But Hope's time was up on Saturday, when after being in the bottom two three times in four weeks, their luck ran out and they were sent home.

Despite negative comments from some critics, Charlie remains hopeful for her future pop career.

But for now she is looking forward to some home comforts, although normal life may be hard to return to as she has already been recognised on the one trip she has made out of the house so far.

She said: "I've definitely got to have a night out in Sunderland. I haven't had a proper night out in about four months.

"In the house we were curfewed until 10.30pm and we weren't allowed to go anywhere except West Hampstead."

Charlie is also organising a birthday for Jack, who is six on December 17, as well as her wedding to Lee next year.

She added: "I just want to say thank you to everyone who voted for me.

"If it wasn't for the Northern vote I really do not know if we would have got this far.

"I hope then if we do something in the future everyone will still be behind us."

Charlie already has lots lined up over the coming months. This week alone she has three club gigs – two in London and one in Birmingham, as well as an OK magazine photoshoot and a performance at the Clothes Show this weekend.

The group are adamant they are staying together and now have their own manager.

For now, they are concentrating on the X Factor tour, which will begin early next year.

Charlie said: "Moving to London is a possibility, but I cannot really say what's going to happen at the moment. The tour is the next thing, so for the moment we're just concentrating on that."

For tour tickets contact www.bookingsdirect.com or tel: 0870 735 5000.

Charlie on the judges: SIMON COWELL: "He was a very hands-on mentor. He knows what he wants. I think he made a few mistakes with some of his choices, but if we ever rang b
ecause we had questions he would always answer the phone to us. I think he's the best mentor we could have had."

SHARON OSBORNE: "I got on really well with Sharon. We became really good friends. She's a really, really nice lady, and nowt is a bother for her. She's just normal. There's nothing star-like about her, even though she is a star. She's amazing."

LOUIS WALSH: "I think sometimes this year the judges concentrated on digging at each other rather than concentrating on the acts. Louis can be a bit over the top sometimes, but he is obviously good at what he does . He did put Hope together and we have to thank him for that."

DANNII MINOGUE: "She's a very focused judge, she knows what she wants, and she wants to win. It's her first one and she's trying to make her mark as an established judge, and as an established artist she wants to be managing the winning act."

source; http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/X-Factor-stars-exclusive-interview.3558112.jp

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