WE HEAR YOU'RE ABOUT TO BECOME A FARMER YOURSELF?

Yeah! It’s looking that way.

Where I live now is a farm, and I’m trying to turn it into something bigger. I’ve got a pig and some chickens, and I’m trying to set it up as a deer farm as well.

Hopefully by the end of the year, that will be running.

WHAT HAS INSPIRED YOU TO DO THAT?

Where I’m living is classed as a farm, but it’s a smallholding really, about ten acres or so. The people who had it before me had it as an equestrian property. I don’t have any horses, so I wanted to find a way to make the land productive.

I spoke to someone whose family is involved in deer farming, and they suggested it to me. It’s reasonably lowmaintenance because the deer kind of look after themselves. The more research I did, it seemed like a really good option for me. And the rest, as they say, will be history!

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF BRANCHING OUT INTO OTHER FORMS OF AGRICULTURE IN THE FUTURE?

Definitely. I don’t have a vegetable patch yet, but I’m looking into it.

I recently came back from a juicing retreat in Portugal.

I went over there with Jason Vale who runs them.

It sounds quite harsh to be on a juicing diet, but it’s just so good for you. You’re getting so many more nutrients out of the vegetables by juicing them than you would if you were just eating them.

APART FROM THE FARM, WHAT OTHER POST-JLS PLANS DO YOU HAVE?

I’m still going to be involved in music, I’ve been in the studio writing for other people; I’m definitely going to keep my hand in with that. I’d also love to continue mentoring. I don’t know if any of the reality shows, like X Factor, are currently looking for new mentors, but it would be lovely to be involved in that side of the industry as well.

Often it’s difficult for people breaking through to know the right things, know the wrong things, to know what to do.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR?

Probably winning two Brit awards in our first year. It's a huge thing.

YOU WON THE STRICTLY COME DANCING CHRISTMAS SPECIAL LAST YEAR. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN APPEARING IN THE NEW SERIES?

I can’t do the next series because I’m on tour with the boys, but if I was free, it’s something I would have loved to have done.

DO YOU THINK, IF THEY DO COME CALLING, YOU’LL DO IT ANOTHER TIME?

They did ask me to do it this year, but I couldn’t. But if they ask me again next year, then yeah.

n Tickets for the date are on sale now.