Alexandra Burke: 5 things I can't live without

TOP TIPS: Alexandra loves to bake

Singer Alexandra Burke, 26, lives in Hatfield, Hertfordshire and is currently starring in The Bodyguard musical.

1. FAMILY

They say you can’t choose your family but I think mine is pretty perfect.

They are my best friends and support network and I try to spend as much time with them as possible.

Having six brothers and two sisters, family get-togethers can be a rather raucous affair.

Growing up, we would all gather at my aunty’s house every Sunday and she would cook the most amazing meal of Caribbean rice and peas and plantain or a roast with all the trimmings.

Recently we have discovered the joys of indoor crazy golf.

My dad, David, is the most competitive and takes it all very seriously.

2. MY DOGS

Without doubt my three dogs are the loves of my life.

I have a Yorkshire terrier called Alfie, a chihuahua called Prince and Teddy, who is a pomeranian.

While there are lots of lovely walks near my home in Hertfordshire, they only have small legs so often prefer to play in the garden.

Out of the three, Prince is the biggest diva, he has middle child syndrome.

If he thinks I am giving too much attention to the other two he won’t hesitate to bat my hand away from them.

3. BAKING

On my days off I love nothing more than whipping on my apron and baking a cake.

My proudest moment so far has been the three-tiered carrot cake I baked for my dad.

He loved it and so did my friends, who devoured what was left of it when they came over for a cup of tea.

Now that The Great British Bake Off has started, I plan on getting some tips from Mary Berry.

I’d like to try to make a red velvet cake but no matter how hard I try, mine never seem to be as moist as the ones I buy from the Hummingbird Bakery.

4. TEDDY BEAR

My fans are so important to me and many have been there from the very beginning.

Since I began my run playing Rachel in The Bodyguard, some have followed me all around the country and have seen the musical more than 10 times.

I try to make time to meet as many of them as I can and over the years I have been given lots of letters and some lovely gifts.

The first present I ever received, during my time on X Factor, was a little teddy bear.

It had pink fur as they knew it was my favourite colour.

I have kept it ever since.

5. MY PHONE

It sounds awful but I don’t know what I would do without my phones.

I have three: one for friends and family, one for work and one for when I’m in America.

They are my lifeline when I am on the road as they allow me to keep in touch with my loved ones.

Although I have a fancy camera, I always end up using my phone to take photos because the quality is so good.

During my recent holiday to Montenegro my camera remained stowed in my bag.

When I’m away from home I like to look through my photos and remember the fun things I have done.

Alexandra Burke will be at this year’s Virgin Media Louder Lounge at V Festival, which takes place on August 22-23.