Marie McGonigle, 23, is a Bexley girl through and through. Now projected into the limelight after winning the BBC’s DanceX competition, Marie speaks to Charlotte Gray about her love of all things dance

YOU cannot find a more local and down-to-earth stage star than Marie McGonigle.

At her family home in Erith, Marie is surrounded by musical instruments and classic Beatles tunes.

She even owes her singing experience to family band The Troubled, for which her father plays the guitar.

Suddenly Marie has been thrown into the all-singing, all-dancing spotlight as one of the winners of the BBC’s DanceX competition.

Marie is now in the process of releasing a new single, Dancing In Repeat, with Team Bruno, and preparing to support Rihanna on tour in December.

Marie said: "It’s been mad! It’s hard work getting up early and singing and dancing all day, but I don’t think of it as work because I love it so much.

"I went to the audition not really expecting anything, but I just kept making it through each round. I didn’t even realise there was any singing involved until I turned up.

"It’s crazy to think that little old me will now be performing at Wembley. I can’t get my head round it."

Although life has become a little crazy for the girl who used to work in the Golden Lion pub in Bexleyheath, Marie still takes time out to come home.

She said: "I like to go home every now and again. I had to jump on a 229 bus the other day to keep my head grounded.

"It’s so easy just to get swept up in it all."

She added: "Dancing is something I’ve always wanted to do, so I’ve been pursuing it for a long time. If someone had said to me a few months ago that I would be singing with Rihanna, I wouldn’t have believed them.

"I’m glad I pursued my dreams. I do believe that if you keep going, and keep trying, then you’re going to get somewhere in the end."