Strictly Come Dancing winner Alesha Dixon has denied her estranged brother’s claims that they had a “terrible” childhood.

Mark Harris claimed recently that he, Alesha and younger brother John “often went to bed hungry” because their mum Beverley was more interested in her sometimes violent boyfriends and that the siblings watched in terror as Beverley was once rushed to hospital after a vicious attack from a former partner.

Alesha explained: “I didn’t have a perfect childhood but it was still a great one - and I don’t want people to think different.”

“The last thing I would ever want is people to think my mum is a bad mother - she’s the most amazing mother anybody could ever wish for.”

“The reason I don’t talk to Mark is because of the way he is so disrespectful to our mum. I cherish her. If anyone is rude about her or says a bad word about her they won’t be a part of my life. Unfortunately, that’s how I feel about my brother.”

Alesha’s father, Melvin Dixon, left the family when Alesha was four years old and while the relationship between her parents remains strained, Alesha insists: “My parents always had their hearts in the right place, they did the best by their children.”

“I have to thank my mum and my dad for making me the person I am today. I thank my mum for her absolute love – she always supported me, she always wanted me to be happy - and my dad for his strength.”