X FACTOR champion Leigh-Anne Pinnock says she has been overwhelmed at the reaction she has got back home in south Buckinghamshire.

The 20-year-old singing sensation was catapulted into the limelight after her group Little Mix won the talent show last month.

It sparked a manic month of interviews, promotion and live performances - but the hard work paid off, culminating in a Number One debut single.

The Downley resident said it has been a surreal experience - but nothing could prepare her for being mobbed by fans in her home town.

She told the Free Press: “I remember walking through town with mum just before judges’ houses and we sat in Starbucks by the window.

“We sat there and just watched the world go by and mum said; ‘enjoy this because we might not be able to do this again’.

“We went into town last week and stopped just outside Starbucks and loads of people crowded round.

“People just come up to me and say ‘well done, congratulations’ and it is such a nice feeling that everyone from Wycombe has been so supportive.

“It’s just so weird having people know who I am and want my autograph and their photo taken with me - It’s crazy.”

Her favourite shop even closed to let the Little Mix star browse in peace.

“I saw one of the girls who worked in River Island the other day and she told me they had to shut the shop for me - I hadn’t even realised!”

The former Sir William Ramsay headgirl says she will never get used to seeing her face on the news-stands or mingling with the stars at parties.

“It’s crazy - I still get excited when I see celebrities and it’s surreal having people we idolise telling us that they like what we do”, she said.

But the ex-Songbirds singer says she will never allow fame to go to her head and is relishing her new role as a role model for youngsters.

She said: “X Factor made me a better person - I’ve grown in every single way but I’ve not changed who I am and I don’t see why I should change.

“The best thing about Little Mix is we’re role models for being ourselves.

“We get tweets saying ‘you’re my inspiration, you inspire me to be who I am’. And I remember someone sent us a video saying; ‘thank you for allowing me to be who I am’.

“It made us all cry - It was amazing to know we’re not only doing something we love but helping other people as well.”

But the Little Mixer told the BFP that the best thing about her new-found stardom is being able to reward her friends and family for their support.

She said: “My friends are so happy and proud, you have to know who your friends are and I’m so fortunate to have an amazing group of friends.

“My family don’t treat me any different, I’m still the same Leigh-Anne. It’s just now nice to be able to spoil them and thank them for being there for me.

“I remember my mum saying that if I ever made it, all she wanted was a Pandora bracelet - so I got her one for Christmas.”

Leigh Anne headed off to Brighton last week to begin the next chapter of the Little Mix story, but not before leaving a message for her Bucks supporters.

She said: “Thank you so much for everything, without you guys I would not be where I am now. I’m the happiest person in the world right now.”

Bucks Free Press: Leigh-Anne Pinnock

Leigh-Anne on.....

Winning X Factor: “It’s like a dream, I never thought I was going to get to the live shows, let alone win it. I’m on top of the world right now - happiest person ever. "But we didn’t really celebrate as we had to be up at 4.30am for interviews, we had ten minutes with our families and then straight to bed!”

First audition: “I was cringing watching it back! I was ill and I thought I’m never going to get through but I went out there and just went for it.”

Being put in a group: “I never wanted to be put in a group - I always saw myself as a solo artist - but when they put me with those girls, it was magic. "It was like they were the things I had been missing my whole life and from that moment, I never had any doubts at all.”

The Little Mix girls: “We went to Perrie’s house after we were formed and we clicked straight away, we have the same sense of humour and we were just lucky - If we hadn’t got on, we wouldn’t won. I couldn’t be without them now. But I couldn’t understand the South Shield girls to start with!”

The makeover and style: “I’m growing out the shaved bit now and may change the hair colour down the line and come back with something else drastic - I think that will be my signature. We’re also working on logos.”

The X Factor bubble: “When we were in the X Factor house, we didn’t watch the TV, we didn’t have a clue what was going on in the real world - you just live and breathe the show. "You have your family to let you know what’s written about you, I was fortunate as nothing bad was really said about me, but I felt so sorry for those that did. The Jesy thing was horrible.”

The name change row: “That was horrible! We loved the name Rhythmix and had no idea there was a charity of the same name, so we panicked for a bit until we came up with Little Mix. "We were a bit unsure about it but - the same week - we performed ET and got so much positive feedback that the performance overshadowed the name change. Little Mix is perfect for us.”

Tulisa: “She was amazing, I’ve got her on my Blackberry and she’s always there to talk to. We couldn’t ask for a better mentor.”

Favourite X Factor moment: “Week One singing Super Bass or Rihanna telling me ‘you’re hair is awesome!’

The year ahead: “We move to Brighton and it is going to be work, work, work - meeting after meeting - to find out who Little Mix are and then we get in the studio to begin recording the album, plus there’s the X Factor tour in March, which will be amazing.

"We'll be house hunting in London and we’re aiming to get our second single as soon as we can as we don’t want to leave it too long but, at the same time, we want to make the album the best it can be.

"But it will be that RnB/Hip-Hop/pop mix, we’re all co-writing our stuff and we are going to put our own creative spin on it. We have so many ideas - it’s exciting times.”

The BFP has ten Little Mix posters signed by the Downley star up for grabs.

All you have to do is email sfarr@london.newsquest.co.uk with the name of Little Mix's mentor on the X Factor.