Victoria Ekanoye says it would be a "bigger moment" for her mum if she progressed to the live finals of ‘The X Factor: Celebrity’ than when she landed a role on ‘Coronation Street’.
The former cobbles favourite – who played Angie Appleton on the ITV soap for two years – says it would "mean the world" to her mother if she progressed in the competition, after watching her as a child "trying to build a voice out of nothing" in her living room.
She said: "Sitting with my family and friends, watching me at the Lives would probably be a bigger moment for her than me getting ‘Corrie’ or ‘The Lion King’, because although she’s a massive fan of ‘Corrie’ and ‘The Lion King’ was my big break, this is different because she bore witness, every day, of me daydreaming, pretending to be at my own concert in then living room and trying to build a voice out of nothing.
"So for her to then see me sing on such a huge global show … it would mean the world."
Victoria is also hoping to reach the live finals so she can see some of her former ‘Corrie’ co-stars in the audience supporting her.
She added: "They already are. Honestly, they’re an amazing bunch and really funny. There’s just so much support with anything that anyone does.
"I’ve made some real friends from the show and I love that because it’s not always the case on a job. They’re good eggs."
But the 36-year-old star is hoping the nerves don’t get the better of her when she comes face-to-face with the judges, Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, and Louis Walsh.
She said: "Oh God, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified. I am. But it’s weird, my nerves don’t really come from who I’m singing in front of – my nerves come more from my inability to sometimes lock into what I feel I’m capable of, which is usually down to my confidence levels.
"All of our voices are built differently; what we can do with them, how we sound.
"I guess I feel the less we focus on trying to replicate what someone else has done with a song, the more we can make it our own and feel comfortable with it. I’m just gonna try to focus on being Vic."
Victoria Ekanoye says X Factor progress would be bigger for her mum than Corrie
