'I feel more motivated than ever'

Singer-turned-presenter Fleur East chats about her life-changing year and how the arrival of her daughter has shifted her focus

- ALICE PENWILL

As Fleur East gets ready for 2025, there's one reason she's so thankful for the year she's just had - the arrival of her baby girl.

Fleur, 37, and her husband Marcel Madiane-Robin, welcomed their daughter Nova in March. The singer and presenter, who first found fame on The X Factor a decade ago, says nothing has been the same since she became a mum.

"It's been a life-changing year. I've had a lot of experiences that have altered the course of my life career-wise, but a big personal highlight is becoming a mum and I really didn't know how that was going to change me or what it was going to do to my life," she says. "But wow! It's changed me in such a big way.

I feel more motivated than ever before because I have Nova as my inspiration." Fleur returned to work in September determined to commit herself to motherhood and her professional life in equal measure.

"I won't be taking a step back, because since having Nova she's been absolutely everywhere with me," she says. "So when Nova grows up, I can go, 'You met all these people when you were a baby.' I mean, she met Katy Perry when she was five months old. Nova doesn't realise how lucky she is."

While on the surface Fleur is still the driven, talented woman we know from the stage, she reveals 2024 has made her feel different on the inside.

"I feel more of an internal change to be honest nothing outwardly that people would notice," she says.