Cheryl Fernandez-Versini has revealed how her life could have headed down a very different path before she found fame in Girls Aloud.
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The ‘X Factor’ judge, who was brought up on a tough council estate in Newcastle, has admitted she could have been a drug dealer or ended up in prison if she hadn’t discovered dance at a young age.
Cheryl Fernandez-Versini
Appearing on Ant and Dec’s new documentary, detailing the work of the Prince’s Trust - of which Cheryl is an ambassador - she said: “It’s so important when you’re younger to have something you’re disciplined in or that you enjoy - it sets you up for the rest of your life.
“If I didn't having [my dancing], and I wasn't lucky enough to come to dance classes or had that discipline instilled in me, I could have gone anywhere. I could have been a drug addict, I could have been in prison.
“Any route could have happened had I not had have this opportunity.”
Ant agreed with the star, saying his experiences of growing up in the North East were similar.
“It’s exactly the same with us,” he said.
“If I didn’t get that lucky break with the ‘Byker Grove’ audition when we were 13, God knows what would have happened. The same route probably. You don’t know.”
“I think I was always going to be alright,” Dec joked.
Ant admitted he thought his life could have taken a similar turn
Cheryl has always been open about her tough upbringing, where she was regularly exposed to people using drugs and committing crime, and set up The Cheryl Cole Foundation to provide funds for The Prince's Trust in Newcastle.
She later set up her own Trust to help raise £2million to build a centre to help support up to 4000 disadvantaged youngsters.
In the documentary, Ant and Dec have close access to HRH The Prince of Wales, where viewers will see him talking about the upcoming 40th anniversary of The Prince’s Trust, his life as a grandfather and amusing anecdotes from his days in the Royal Navy.
It also sees them pay an emotional visit to the set of ‘Byker Grove’, to revisit where they first found fame on the kids’ TV series in the late 1980s.
‘When Ant & Dec Met The Prince: 40 Years Of The Prince's Trust’ airs tonight at 9pm on ITV.