Tim Hughes finds out how prison officer turned X Factor winner Sam Bailey keeps her feet firmly on the ground

Sam Bailey admits to still having to pinch herself when she looks at how far she has come in the past two years. One minute she was locking up prisoners at a tough Leicestershire jail, the next she is a national star after winning The X Factor.

What followed was a rollercoaster ride of touring, chart-topping success and fame.

It has not all been glittering showbiz glamour, though. After the joy of giving birth to her third child — Miley Beau — in September, she revealed she was suffering from Bell’s Palsy, a nervous disorder which caused temporary muscle paralysis on the side of her face.

Sam refused to let it stop her, though. Neither has she let fame go to her head, staying in the three-bedroom semi on the edge of Leicester which she shares with her husband Craig and other children Tommy and Brooke.

“I still love it here,” she says, talking to me while having her hair done at a Leicester hair salon. “Why would I want to swap this to live in a nice house where the kids are not happy? I’d rather they had a grasp of normality and lived in a place where people are interested in what they are doing.”

Sam is refreshingly down to earth. And how many other celebs would go along to a book signing at an Asda store, then grab a trolley and do their grocery shopping? But if she rejects the celebrity persona, she admits baby Miley is squarely in the spotlight — whether she likes it or not. Images of the smiling tot have attracted hundreds of thousands of likes on Facebook.

“She’s a little miss and a little bit of a celeb,” laughs Sam. “She’s always going to be in the public eye.”

That is almost assured given her godmother — one Sharon Osbourne: wife of Ozzy, and Sam’s X Factor mentor. Sharon and Miley met each other for the first time in November, backstage at a screening of the TV show Loose Women.

“I didn’t actually ask her, but I had messaged that I’d love to have Sharon as the godmother, and that I wasn’t just asking her because she’s famous,” she says.

“She must have seen it, though, as she tweeted saying she’d be honoured to be the godmother. Sharon is a lovely woman and I respect her for her strength and for everything she has gone through in her fight with depression and alcohol.”

Fellow X Factor star Nicky McDonald, 18, shares godfathering duty with Leicester City footballer Conrad Logan.

“Nicky is a grafter,” says Sam, who has also been a Pontins bluecoat and a singer on cruise ships and in clubs. “He’s always out working and gigging, and I’m a massive fan of Conrad.”

She goes on: “I’m still getting Miley used to the attention. People want to take pictures of her all the time. The other kids love it and treat Miley like a princess, which is more important.

“All my children are so different from each other. My nine-year-old, Brooke, is going on 17, while Tommy is five and adorable, and Miley is the most perfect little thing. I can’t wait for her to cuddle me back. I’ve had three perfect babies and couldn’t be happier. But I’m not going to sugar-coat anything for my children; I’ll raise them here as normally as possible.”

While she enjoys life at home in Leicester Forest East, she is not allowed to go back to her old workplace HM Prison Gartree — whose list of former inmates includes Reggie Kray and Ian Brady.

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“I’m looking forward to a reunion but I’m not allowed to go inside for security reasons,” she says.

“Having opened up on TV, it would be uncomfortable to go back into the prison with its Category-B lifers.”

On Sunday, Sam plays a show at Oxford’s New Theatre as part of a headline tour.

It follows a Number-one hit with her single Skyscraper, supporting Beyoncé on tour, performing with Michael Bolton at the National Television Awards and the re-issue of her number one debut album The Power Of Love — given a Christmas flavour before the festive season with the addition of some seasonal favourites.

It also comes as she sees off the lingering effects of her Bell’s Palsy. “It wasn’t me at all,” she says, recalling it’s onset.

“I had a lopsided face. I couldn’t shut my left eye; people thought I was winking at them. But I had a lot of people say they’d had it too, which gave me courage to go out to the shops and stuff.

“I didn’t know how long it would be, but am really relieved it worked out all right, as some people get it for a year or more.”

And she can’t wait to get on the road. “I’m very much looking forward to it,” she says. “I’m a bit nervous, but I’m going to go out and have a laugh.

“Everyone who comes is going to enjoy the show. And they should wear comfortable shoes — they’re going to be standing up!”

Sam Bailey
Sunday, 7.30pm 
New Theatre, Oxford
Tickets from £31.40 to £33.40 plus £2.85 fee, from atgtickets.com