Burke mum: 'Alexandra owes it all to me'

Alexandra Burke's mother has reportedly claimed that The X Factor winner's success is all down to her.

Melissa Bell, whose pop career flopped after she quit Soul II Soul in 1997, claimed that Burke, 21, would never have won the ITV1 singing contest without her help. She added that her daughter would be "dropped like a stone" by Simon Cowell if she put on weight.

"To be honest, I'm a better singer than she is. But she is thinner than me - maybe too thin. I was 18st in my heyday. But it's all about image these days, more than talent," she said.

Burke's mum added that her daughter, who releases her new single 'All Night Long' on May 17, hasn't given her any money since finding fame.

"She's rich but we're poor. She hasn't given me a penny and I'm too proud to ask. But considering her win was a team effort, I certainly deserve some," she said.

Bell, who kicked Burke out of her home at the age of 16, claimed that she was a better songwriter than the star and complained that although her daughter buys her weekly groceries, she has them delivered because she is too busy to bring them herself.

As well as advising Burke on her fashion choices, Bell said that she has given her valuable insights into the music industry.

"I've told her always to be nice to people on the way up because you'll see them again on the way down," she said. "I still give Alex advice. She's lucky to have a mum like me."

Bell made the claims in her new autobiography Heart and Soul, extracts of which are published in the Sunday Mirror.