JOE McElderry admits that he finds it hard to believe that it is 10 years since he first came to prominence by winning X Factor.

“In some ways it feels like a lifetime ago but then in other moments it seems like yesterday,” said the genial Geordie who is heading to Manchester next week in a new musical - Club Tropicana.

“I feel like such a different person now. I was a child then,” he laughed. Joe was just 17 when more than 19 million viewers saw him win the TV talent show. “I’ve grown up now and I’ve been grafting away in this business ever since.”

That ‘grafting away’ includes releasing five albums, embarking on numerous concert tours and establishing himself as musical theatre star by playing the lead in a UK tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

He also became the unofficial king of reality TV after winning both The Jump and Pop Star to Opera Star.

“I feel blessed that I’m getting to do something, l love every day,” he said. “I think the best advice I’ve ever had in this industry was never to plan things too much. You need a rough idea of what you want to do but there’s nothing wrong with sitting back and seeing what’s around the corner.”

Joe’s latest challenge is starring in Club Tropicana The Musical set in the vibrant Club Tropicana Hotel, billed as the Eighties’ answer to Love Island.

Joe plays the hotel’s entertainment manager who has to preside over complete chaos as a reluctant would-be bride and her fiancé escape to the sun and their wedding plans without realising they have both booked the same hotel.

Add in the fact that the health inspectors are trying to close the place down and the scene is set for much mayhem all accompanied by some of the most popular songs of the Eighties.

For Joe, the role has allowed him the chance to show off his talents as a comedy performer.

“I’ve done a few acting roles before and Joseph was the last big one I did but it was completely sung through,” he said. “This is a full comedy role - there’s far more acting than singing. To do comedy requires completely different timing and it’s been a real learning curve for me.

“It was massively nerve-wracking at the beginning. I didn’t know if I was going to be funny or if people were going to enjoy it. I didn’t really have any references as it was a brand new show.”

Joe says that his own tours have helped him prepare for the role.

“I talk to my audiences in concert so I wasn’t worried about that, but my concert shows are not scripted comedy,” he said. “But they have been good preparation and I’ve got over that fear of knowing whether I could talk to an audience or not.”

In Club Tropicana, Joe is sharing a stage with impressionist and comedienne Kate Robbins, Amelle Berrabah of the pop group the Sugababes who is making her stage debut, Neil McDermott, best known as Ryan Malloy in EastEnders and West End star Emily Tierney who played Glinda in the original UK tour of Wicked.

“We’ve got such an amazing cast,” said Joe. “It really is an amazing bunch of people to work with. We’re having great fun on the road.”

Club Tropicana opened for the first time at the beginning of the year and will tour the country until August.

“I think that we have all appreciated the fact that we have been part of the show from the start,” said Joe. “It’s not been a case of slotting into a role which has been created by others.

“In this show we created our own individual roles. I think that’s a very special thing. When you’ve worked on something from scratch you feel different about it.”

Audiences have clearly loved the show which is unashamedly Eighties.

“They are iconic songs that everyone knows no matter what age you are,” said Joe. “They have stood the test of time. It really does take them audience back to where they were when the songs were released.

“They come and dress up with their luminous stuff on, their tutus, their ‘Frankie Says Relax’ T-shirts and their legwarmers. It’s amazing to watch.”

Club Tropicana features some of the biggest hits of the era all performed live.

“I love singing Relax which is a great party song,” said Joe, “and I love singing Depeche Mode’s Just Can’t Get Enough,” said Joe. “But the song I enjoy most is one which I don’t actually sing. We do Take on Me by A-ha but it is done as a ballad rather than the version most people will know and it’s beautiful.”

Joe has been touring non stop for five months prior to coming to Manchester took advantage of a week off in the touring schedule to get away to the sun.

“It’s the first time in a long time I’m having a proper break,” he said. “I just hope I don’t find myself staying at somewhere like the Club Tropicana Hotel!”

Club Tropicana the Musical, Manchester Opera House, Monday, June 3 to Saturday, June 8. Details from 0844 871 3018 or www.atgtickets.com