Tesco Mary recording with Nigel Wright

X Factor's Mary Byrne is working on her debut album with producer Nigel Wright.

The Irish singer has quit her checkout job at Tesco ahead of the upcoming X Factor tour and is already plotting her first record.

Speaking to the Irish Independent about ditching her supermarket job, Byrne said: "I had to ring them over the weekend and arrange to pop in for my P45. I'm actually quite scared about it because Tesco has been my safety net during the past six months.

"No matter what happened on X Factor, I always knew Tesco would take me back."

On the subject of her debut album, the 51-year-old said: "Nigel's worked with Madonna on the film soundtrack for Evita. He's done all the soundtrack albums for Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals. But what most impressed me was he's recorded Shirley Bassey who is my all-time hero."

Byrne will complete the album later this month in a South London studio and all the songs will be chosen by her X Factor mentor Louis Walsh. Tracks expected to make the final cut include covers of Shirley Bassey and Dusty Springfield and a rendition of James Browns's 'It's A Man's Man's Man's World'.

"Louis has a great track record on picking songs, he will have the final word," she said.