Jade Thirlwall has shared her pride after being given the “highest honour” in her hometown.
The former Little Mix singer gave an emotional speech after being bestowed with the Freedom of the Borough in South Tyneside.
The 33-year-old posted a series of photos of her onstage receiving the accolade on Instagram and shared the heartfelt speech she read out in the caption.
The FUFN singer wrote: “On the 18th December I received the Freedom of the Borough, the highest honour my hometown can bestow.
“I’m so proud to come from South Tyneside and couldn’t be happier to receive this alongside South Shields legend Richard Ord MBE - owner of @colmansfishandchips.
“The Colmans family have been so kind and supportive of me over the years - you couldn’t meet a more generous and deserving candidate for this award.”
Thirlwall went on: “On my way to the event from London to South Shields, I wrote down a little something from the heart about how much it means to me to be a Sand Dancer.
“I was very nervous as I don’t really enjoy public speaking but looking around the room I reminded myself I was surrounded by people I love and who got me to where I am today.”
Her speech read: “What an honour this was, with my family and friends all by my side - my only wish was that my grandparents and great aunt could have been there, all dressed up, celebrating together.
“Maybe they were. Thank you to the Mayor of South Tyneside, Councillor Jay Potts, Tracey Dixon (leader of the Council) and all at @southtynesidecouncil who supported this decision.”
She signed off: “If you see me walking my cattle around the town mind ya business. Much love, your Honorary Freewoman Of The Borough.”
Thirlwall rose to fame after winning The X Factor in 2011 with Little Mix, who produced the hit songs Wings, Shout Out To My Ex and Sweet Melody.
Little Mix was originally made up of Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards, and Jesy Nelson until Nelson’s departure in 2020.
The remaining singers continued on as a trio before announcing an indefinite hiatus from 2022 - although Thirlwall recently insisted they will reunite at some point.
Despite the group’s chart successes, including five number one songs and a number one album, Thirlwall revealed being in the band was “cut-throat” and that she was constantly on a “tightrope of success”.
“If you fell out of the Top 10, there was a lot to worry about,” she told Harper’s Bazaar last month.
“I look back at times when we were huge, before Get Weird came out, and we had a big sleepover, all crying, ‘if this isn’t a Top 10 song, we’ll get dropped’.
“It’s wild to think about now because we were so big at the time.”
The singer also opened up about the racism she faced growing up and feeling “ashamed” of who she was.
She said: “My early teen years were tough and that was the dawn of me almost feeling ashamed of who I am. When you’re from the North East, you hear slurs constantly. You don’t become immune, but you get used to it.
“Being called the P-word was just part of growing up, which is awful to say.”
