Mel B switches on Blackpool Illuminations

Mel B said she felt very privileged to switch on the Blackpool Illuminations in her "old stomping ground".

Thousands turned out to see the Spice Girls singer flip the switch.

She said the resort was very close to her heart, having started out as a 16-year-old dancer in the Mystique show at the Pleasure Beach Resort.

"Blackpool was my old stomping ground when I was a teenager, I lived here two years," she said.

"I was 15 or 16 and I became a dancer here in Blackpool, and that was my first professional job before I got into Spice Girls.

"So Blackpool is very dear to my heart."

Thousands turned out to see the singer flip the switch

The singer said her family would visit the lights every year "in their clapped-out car."

"I have fond memories of sitting in traffic as a kid for hours and watching all the lights go on."

She revealed that she had asked the organisers if she could switch the Illuminations on, so felt "very privileged" to have been allowed to.

The a concert headlined by Ella Henderson.

The ceremony, which took place on the Tower Festival Headland, featured Grammy-nominated artist and founder member of The Pussycat Dolls, Kimberly Wyatt, and the Massaoke show performed by Rockstar Weekend.

Last year 12 million people came to see the Illuminations, which spread out over six miles.

They are on until 5 January 2025.