Alesha

Alesha Dixon first found fame in the all-female RB group Mis-Teeq before going solo. In 2007, she won Strictly Come Dancing, and made a successful musical comeback, signing with a new record label. Her second album in 2008 went platinum and earned her a Brit nomination. In 2009 she replaced Arlene Phillips on Strictly Come Dancing, attracting criticism - Alesha dismissed the row and refused to stand down, eventually earning praise from viewers about her judging style. In 2012, Simon Cowell poached Alesha to be a judge for Britain's Got Talent. Alesha has a colourful life story, including the 'very dysfunctional' childhood involving her parents splitting up when she was four, and between the ages of eight and ten witnessing her mother being abused by her partner; she only spoke publicly about the issue 21 years later, in 2010. Dixon created a documentary for the BBC, 'Don't Hit My Mum', about the issue of domestic abuse from a child's perspective. She said of her childhood, 'When I think about that time, I don't remember living in harmony, I don't remember any fun times.'

No stranger to marital strife herself, Alesha had to suffer a double public humiliation in 2006 as she was dropped from her record label just before finding out that her husband of just one year was having an affair with Javine Hilton. Of her experience she said, 'My music career and marriage were the most important things. And I lost them within two weeks of each other.' Dixon is the perfect subject for acclaimed biographer Sean Smith.