Today pop star and talent show judge Anne-Marie is reaching the dizzy heights of stardom but she still remembers her roots in south Essex and loves to give back to her home town.

She is a chart topping artist and TV star who has appeared on Bake Off and is a judge on The Voice.

The star grew up in East Tilbury - and still has close links to the area.

Earlier this month she held foodbank initiatives at East Tilbury Primary and St Clere's School after teaming up with The Caring Family Foundation.

Echo:

The singer, who is a coach on the TV show, The Voice, decided to help out with the foodbank and said she's deeply saddened by the number of children going without food in south Essex and wanted to give back to the community where she grew up.

From an early age the star showed her talent including sporting ability, she appeared in two West End productions as a child—Les Misérables when she was six, and Whistle Down the Wind, alongside fellow pop star Jessie J, when she was 12.

Echo: Anne Marie helped run foodbanks at East Tilbury Primary and St Clere's school

She is also a black belt in Shotokan karate, having started taking karate lessons aged nine.

The Essex-raised star also won Double Gold in the 2002 Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association World Championships, Gold and Silver in the 2007 Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association World Championships, and Gold in the United Kingdom Traditional Karate Federation National Championships.

Despite the West End and sporting success she kept up her teenage studies and attended Palmer's College in Thurrock.

Echo:

In the hotseat - Anne-Marie made her debut as a coach on The Voice UK at the weekend, joining fellow Essex star Olly Murs, Sir Tom Jones and will.i.am on the panel Picture: ITV

In January it was announced she'd signed up for a celebrity special of the Great British Bake Off. The star who has performed with the likes of Clean Bandit and Sean Paul, is one of 20 celebrities who are showcasing their baking skills.

A five-episode series was filmed to raise money for the Stand Up To Cancer campaign.

She's been a favourite with viewers as a judge on The Voice after she made her her first appearance as the newest coach for the tenth series, replacing Meghan Trainor, on 2 January 2021.

It saw her mentor eventual winner Craig Eddie. 

Eddie said it felt strange that he was unable to hug his mentor after victory, but he is glad to have delivered her a win in her first outing on the show.

He said “That was definitely an additional pressure because I wasn’t going to be selfish and just win it for me, it was 50-50, me and Anne-Marie who were going for the win, so definitely there was a bit of pressure.

“Anne-Marie was talking about it through the entire process, how much she really wanted to win.”