IT'S BEEN almost six months since Lee Mead won his dream role.

Six months can be a long time in the life of a reality show contestant and many have fallen by the wayside in a fraction of that.

That's not the case for former Eastwood schoolboy Lee. It's not even close. In the last week alone the 26-year-old has been named best newcomer at the Variety Club Showbiz Awards, been chosen to open the Children In Need television show and on a more shallow level, been rated as having the eighth best celebrity body, ahead of Hollywood royalty George Clooney and Jude Law.

That's not mentioning his title of Rear of the Year, his fiercely loyal legion of fans, whose level of hysteria is normally reserved for boyband members, and the nightly standing ovation he receives for his portrayal of Joseph.

There's no time for reflection pencilled into Lee's busy schedule though. He released his debut album on Monday and has been caught up in a whirlwind of interviews, television appearances and photo shoots ever since.

We spoke to him at the end of another busy day of promotion and asked him whether he gets fed up with talking about himself.

"No. You get used to it," he replies before adding in characteristically modest style. "I didn't mean that to sound big headed."

Big headed he isn't, but enthusiastic about his album he certainly is.

It's a project that came about a few months after landing the role of Joseph. Noticing just how popular he was with the public, Polydor offered him a four album deal.

"It's great doing the show and being a leading man but I was over the moon when they approached me and asked if I'd like to do it," says Lee.

"I've got a four album deal but it depends on how the first one goes. If that goes well I can go on and record the next one."

The early signs are good. Monday's launch at HMV in Oxford Street was packed out with fans, and a day later his self titled album had climbed to number 14 in the charts.

"For a new artist I'm very pleased with that."

The album could easily have been a rushed out collection of show tunes or cheesy pop covers, and with Lee's busy schedule you could forgive him for that, but he was determined to make it something he was proud to put his name to.

"I wanted a live band feel on the album, and didn't want anything too cheesy," he says. "I knew it had to be commercial but I wanted it to have real integrity.

"There are covers, but they're not ones you expect," adds Lee.

Those covers include the Sugababes hit Stronger, Bread classic Make It With You and the Rolling Stones track Paint It Black, a song he's been bombarded with requests to release ever since he sung it on Any Dream Will Do.

The original tracks include one penned by Gary Barlow, who agreed to contribute it after seeing Lee in Joseph.

"He came to see the show with his kids and agreed to let us put a song on the album. That was amazing."

His first single, out in two weeks, is a cover of fellow curly-haired musical star David Essex's number one hit Gonna Make You a Star. This is the closest thing to cheesy on the album, but probably also the catchiest.

"It was a number one back in 1974, so we set about trying to make it a bit more modern. It's quite quirky and a good fun song to sing."

While recording the album, Lee put in two weeks of 18 hour days, spending seven hours in the studio before going on to perform on stage each night and then returning home to practice.

"It was a lot of hard work and pressure recording and doing all the PR, but it's been very exciting," he says. "I feel very lucky to be offered a record deal and I'm very proud of the album.

"It's nice to show another side to me. Doing Joseph and being a leading man is amazing but it's also nice to also be a recording artist.

"Any performer dreams of not doing just one thing," says Lee, who has also started writing his own songs.

His busy schedule is set to continue for some time to come. He's just extended his contract in Joseph until next October to cope with demand for tickets.

"I'm really happy in the show. We're playing to a full house every night and everyone is going away happy which is important," says Lee, who has only missed one performance of the show and that was because of a sprained ankle.

This weekend he'll be playing to another full house. This time it'll be a little closer to home. As a favour for his old singing teacher Margaret Cozens, he'll be performing a guest spot with Margaret's daughter Vanessa and her singing group Trillogy. It's a concert that is expected to raise £3,000 for Children In Need.

"I agreed to do it months ago and I did consider cancelling because of my schedule, and I think people would have understood, but it's important for me to come back home and perform. You can't get two bigger extremes than opening the Children In Need television show and then going back to a small grass roots theatre and performing for Children In Need there. It'll be a nice evening."

It's been a whirlwind ten months for Lee since the first auditions for Any Dream Will Do and to sum it up he borrows a phrase from fellow Essex reality star Chantelle.

"I'm living the dream," he proclaims. "I'm still a normal guy from Southend. I'm still close to my family and friends. But my lifestyle has changed completely and every day is a pinch me moment. Doing Children In Need, getting the record deal, doing the concert at Wembley, meeting amazing people. I'm really living the dream everyday."

Lee's album Lee Mead is available now. His single Gonna Make You A Star is out on Monday December 3.