SUPERSTAR gymnast Max Whitlock was left overwhelmed by the response he received on his return to South Essex Gymnastics Club.

Hundreds of fans turned out at the Basildon venue to greet Whitlock who won pommel horse gold at the World Championships last week.

And Whitlock, who also claimed two silver medals in Glasgow, was clearly taken back by his home-coming.

“It’s just brilliant,” beamed Whitlock.

“I always love coming back to South Essex because these guys always put on a great celebration party.

“It’s great to come back to them too because they have supported me all the way and I really appreciate that.”

Whitlock has now been training in Basildon for the past 10 years.

But he does not believe he would have secured anywhere near as much success had he not opted to join South Essex and work with coach Scott Hann.

“This is probably the best facility in the country for gymnastics and the training gym is amazing,” said Whitlock.

“My coach has got me where I am today. I decided to come here at the age of 12 and it was a brilliant move.”

Whitlock has now won 22 major medals since his first senior international appearance at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

But he secured his latest success despite being struck by an illness on the eve of the competition.

“I had flu twice in the build up to the Worlds,” said Whitlock.

“It wasn’t the best but I managed to push through and get the results I needed which were amazing.”

However, the illness was not the only difficulty Whitlock has been forced to overcome this year after he was struck down by glandular fever and also fell off the high bar in the all around final in Glasgow.

“The illness I now look at as a blessing in disguise because it made me work even harder,” said Whitlock.

“But whenever you get knocks back, like the high bar, you just have to forget about them.

“It’s hard but it’s something you learn as you go along and thankfully I was able to perform well the next day but it still sounds weird being called a world champion.”