Lydia Bright writes Mummy and Me book celebrating single mums

A former The Only Way Is Essex (Towie) star has released a children's book celebrating single motherhood.

Lydia Bright, 33, rose to fame when she made her first appearance on the Essex reality TV show in 2010.

Her book Mummy and Me was inspired by her relationship with her daughter, Loretta, 3, and she wanted to show a positive portrayal of solo parenting.

Bright said she once dreamt of marriage and a "perfect" life but her way was "so much better than the fairy tale".

Fear 'scarier than the reality'

Mummy and Me was released on Thursday and tells the story of a mother elephant and her daughter Etta.

She hoped the book would capture the "magic, the chaos and the adventure" of motherhood.

Bright said was "petrified"about becoming a single mum at first, but the fear was "scarier than the reality".

"I always dreamt that it would be done in a certain way and I would get married and I would have children and do it the perfect way," she said.

"But I actually think my life is so much better than the fairy tale I once dreamt of."

She said her daughter was the best thing that has happened and "even if I could change it and rewrite history, I would not".

"Having Loretta and being a single mum fuelled my drive even more, because there was no one to lean on and I wanted build this wonderful world for her, and I wanted to be a really positive role model for her," she said.

"Anything that I did actually worry about, that actually pushed me to become even more determined."

Bright said she wanted the book to be a "great representation" of single parent families and called it a "celebration".