X Factor Niki's busy life
Stepping onto a stage to belt out a song with the country's eyes on her is a far cry from Midlands mother Niki Evans' usual daily life but it is a challenge she has pulled off like a professional week after week.
Stepping onto a stage to belt out a song with the country's eyes on her is a far cry from Midlands mother Niki Evans' usual daily life but it is a challenge she has pulled off like a professional week after week.
When she would usually be keeping school meal breaks in order and juggling family life, the 34-year-old is now busy with rehearsals, interviews and dancing lessons from dawn until dusk as she battles it out on ITV1's hit show X Factor, the latest round being screened tonight.
Niki, from Polesworth, near Tamworth, initially captured the nation's hearts when she revealed she only entered the show because she found the application forms while sorting through items belonging to her father John Rolph who died in September last year.
"I'd quite happily be out of X Factor to have my dad back but he wanted me to apply for years and I didn't have the confidence but I've gone far, far, further than I ever thought I would get. It's down to my dad and he is with me every time I step onto that stage. I have his chain he always wore and it is always on me, pinned to me somewhere, when I'm on that stage," she said.
While Niki admits she is loving every minute of the experience, she revealed it was hard to be away from her husband Darren and two sons but said she could not wish for them to be more supportive.
"I had a hard day this week because it was my son Jonah's 11th birthday and my other son Morgan will be 13 on Monday and I won't be there to see him as he becomes a teenager. That is hard.
"They do cry when they have to go home after seeing me but I am a mom first and I've told my boys that if they want me to go home, I will. But they say they want me to stay and they want to see me win." Niki, whose childhood idol was Tina Turner, admits the support from people in the Midlands had totally bowled her over and she returned to Polesworth International Language College this week, where she is a catering manager, to say a quick hello.
She said: "They were going crazy and I was like 'you didn't love me like this eight weeks ago so what's changed?' and it's funny because I'm the same, normal person.
"But I get people grabbing me in the street and I don't really know how to handle it when people recognise me. It's lovely but isn't something I'm used to."
She added: "I've had lots of messages of support from Tamworth and Birmingham, it's been overwhelming and touches me to the core of my heart."
