IT was the dream that she feared would never be realised.

But this week Leanne Mitchell began work on her first music video, just days after winning BBC One talent show The Voice. And now she is coming to terms with becoming a recording star.

The 28-year-old singer from Oulton Broad told The Journal that she had been in a 'whirlwind' since her victory on Saturday night which secured her a long-coveted record deal with Island Records.

Since then, her debut single has gone on sale in the download charts and she has begun preparing to work on her debut album. After a brief rest, she will then rejoin her co-stars in September for The Voice tour.

Speaking on Wednesday, Leanne said: 'It has been a bit of a whirlwind since Sunday morning. I have had to do so many interviews talking to different people. You really get taken from pillar to post – it's exciting.'

She added: 'It's weird because I never entered the competition thinking I would win it, but now I have been given this opportunity. To be honest, I was not even aware that the single was going to be released, but tomorrow (Thursday) I am filming the music video and then we start making the album.'

Leanne's success on The Voice began when she impressed the judges in a blind audition singing Beyonce's If I Were A Boy.

On Saturday, she delivered strong performances of James Brown's It's A Man's Man's Man's World and Whitney Houston's Run To You to beat her fellow performers Bo Bruce and Tyler James.

She also sang Eric Burdon and the Animals' Mama Told Me Not To Come in a duet with her on-screen mentor Sir Tom Jones – a song he had previously covered with the Stereophonics.

By Sunday afternoon, her single, a cover of Whitney Houston's Run To You, had reached number 12 in the iTunes pop singles' chart. It is believed she has signed a recording contract worth �500,000.

However, Leanne is determined not to be swayed by anything she reads about herself in the national media. She said: 'I haven't read a lot of what has been in the papers because I don't think it is worth it.

'I am normal and don't have any skeletons in the closet.'

She added: 'One of the good things about the show is that a lot of people are going to get record deals and lots of work – there's not just one winner. I haven't watched the final back yet. I want to wait a little longer before I do that!'

Leanne, who is also a voice coach at a theatre company based at Potters Leisure Resort in Hopton, was still a pupil at Benjamin Britten High School, in Lowestoft, when she started performing at Potters at the age of 15.

She also met her husband Rob Hurren, 31, while working there.

Leanne said: 'I owe a lot to Potters. I worked there a long time, I've have made a lot of good friends there and people have been really supportive. As far as going back there, I think if I ever wanted to go back and work there again then I am sure I could, but I will have to see how it goes.'

Leanne's debut single, Run To You, is out on July 16 and available on ITunes now.