Cheryl squashed dreams of being a ballerina

Singer Cheryl Fernandez-Versini says she wanted to pursue a career in ballet, but soon realised she "didn't fit in".

The former Girls Aloud band member was keen to pursue a career in dance when she was a youngster, but couldn't do so after she was made to feel like an outsider during her weekly ballet lessons, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

She said: "I wanted to be a ballerina. I did ballet from that young. And then I went to the Royal Ballet (summer school) when I was nine or 10. Hated it. Squashed the dream.

"It wasn't me. I didn't fit in. I had to be sponsored to go there because my parents couldn't afford to send us there, and everyone else was - obviously... Basically I was a bit of an outcast," she added.

The 31-year-old, who has gone on to have a successful solo singing career, believes her social status played a role in her feeling uncomfortable in class.

"It was the first time I'd ever felt class. I didn't know what it was. Everyone around was normal to me. There was this thing, and we were all on the same level... I didn't understand it. I just knew it was different. And that they were looking down their noses, if you like," she said.

"But I couldn't express it. Was out of place. I think about nine-year-old me, and I think, 'That must have been hard.' Hard enough for me to go home to me parents and say, 'This is not what I want to do anymore'," she added.