Alexandra Burke: ‘I won’t go out alone at night anymore’

‘My mum told me to give up acting at 16, and said, “It’s done for you.” She was absolutely right,’ remembers Alexandra Burke ahead of taking the plunge into her first television drama.

At the time Burke felt her dreams had been ‘ripped’ by her mother, Melissa Bell, a lead singer in group Soul II Soul, one of the driving forces of British R&B in the 90s.

Bell died in 2017, aged 53, almost a decade after watching her daughter win The X Factor, release a record-breaking debut single, and later become a West End sensation.

But none of that would have been possible had Burke ignored her mum’s stern advice. 

‘She told me “You’re going to be a singer, and the rest will follow once you’ve had some success.”’

Turns out mums really do know best. On October 10, Burke will be starring in Curfew, a new six-part drama on Paramount Plus bound to ruffle feathers, following a divided United Kingdom (not much of a stretch there!) where men are forced to live under a 7pm curfew or face a minim two-year prison sentence.

‘It caused quite a debate in my household,’ she says.

‘Personally, I don’t think curfew would work in our world. You cannot paint every man with the same brush. I’ve got a lot of male friends, I’ve got brothers, and I would hate for them to be locked up from 7pm till 7am because of something they just didn’t do.

‘But then, at the same time, saying this as a woman, what can be done to make women feel safer on the streets? We’ve heard about so many situations where women have been hurt in unprovoked attacks you think to yourself, “Well, why weren’t they safe?” Why weren’t they protected? And what can be done to then protect women in the future? We’re all someone’s child.’

While Burke doesn’t believe in a curfew for all men, she admits the very real danger of being attacked by a man means she has to be constantly on high alert.

‘If I’m honest with you, I don’t really go out and I’m not talking because I’ve got children,’ she says.

‘I’ve got a lot of anxiety around women being out after a certain time, full stop.

‘I’m always quite anxious going out by myself or being alone. I take London Transport but I don’t take it at night at all. I’ve taken it in a day to go to work, and I’ve been by myself the other day, and I was fine, but at night you wouldn’t catch me.

‘I wouldn’t be out, and if I am, it’s with my partner or someone I feel safe with.

‘I have all my friends on Find My Friends – always – because it’s just, sadly, the world we live in.’

In Curfew, Burke is a pro as teacher Helen, a strong supporter of men being locked in their houses overnight – and you soon find out with good reason. You’d never know that throughout filming Burke was absolutely petrified, plagued by self-doubt when actually hers is one of the stand-out performances in Curfew despite starring opposite acting heavyweights Sarah Parish, Larry Lamb, and Doctor Who star Mandeep Gill.

‘I’m not a trained actress so when you walk around and see these people you’ve admired on TV and then you’re in the same show as them, it’s daunting and overwhelming,’ she says, as though the last seven years of rave theatre reviews never happened.

‘There is always a fear that I might not be good enough, but it makes me work harder. It makes me more determined to deliver the best so I don’t see that as a negative because my mum always said to me, “If you’re nervous, it means you care”.

‘I’ll never walk into something and go “I’ve got the job” – that will never come out of my mouth. I’ll always get a good feeling about something, and sometimes I might be wrong, but I always believe that you should be seen and be seen in the room.

‘I never, ever have taken a job based on someone going, “Oh, it’s Alexandra Burke, so maybe she’ll put some bums in the seats.” No, you audition me, and if I’m not good enough, tell me no. I need you to believe in what I can do.’

But she’s adamant: ‘I wouldn’t have my life any other way – including living with that fear.’

It’s that lack of ego and willingness to put in the hard graft that meant, unlike so many other X Factor winners, she stood the test of time.

It was 16 years ago that 14 million people watched Burke beat boyband JLS in the 2008 X Factor final moments after famously weeping into the arms of Beyonce.

Since then she’s had three number-one singles, and a number-one album, reached the final of Strictly Come Dancing, spent years travelling the UK in Sister Act to sold-out crowds, and is only just now starting what feels like an exciting new chapter as an actress.

But Burke knows exactly why she’s still standing.

‘My gut’s never failed me,’ she says with determination. ‘If there is something I don’t want to do, I won’t do it.’

Of course, her intuition (and talent) helped but Burke put in the graft too. She’s barely been away from the public consciousness since bursting out of The X Factor, not slowing down for a second even after having two children.

‘I went back to work after both babies after two months, and that’s unheard of,’ she concedes.

‘After the next one I will be taking a longer break – a lot longer – but I love to work and I can’t let kids take that away from me. I’ve never worked harder and there’s so much more I want to do, and it’s because of those kids.’

Another TV drama?

‘If this opens up more doors to do more TV dramas and movies, please. I pray that the universe gives me more.’