Newlywed Steve Brookstein has just got back from his honeymoon in Rome when we speak, after marrying his long-term girlfriend two weeks ago. Yet I still do not escape the trademark flirtation which made him so memorable on the X Factor two years ago.

"I am glad it is a woman interviewing me, I prefer talking to women, not just because I am a flirt but I just find them easier to talk to. It's a shame I didn't speak to you two weeks ago, before I got married!"

However, despite his cheeky comments, Steve is full of praise for his new wife Eileen - a jazz musician he met in the Wimbledon branch of Starbucks.

"The wedding was great, we had a really good day, it went relatively smoothly, as smooth as these things can, it just flew by. She is a good egg."

When I speak to him Steve is on the road in Scotland - where he got married - going from one radio station to the other performing live acoustic sets.

He is in the middle of promoting a new album, entitled 40,000 Things, which he claims to be 10 times better than his first attempt - a catastrophe for which he blames Simon Cowell.

"The new album is going to be different, my influences have always been Marvin Gaye and the song writing influences have come from all my experiences in the last 10 years.

"This album is wicked, it is work I want to develop over the next year. I am not looking to sell hundreds of thousands of copies in week one. We have got a good fan base and it is growing and I think this album will do the same.

"After X Factor, I felt isolated and unrepresented. They tell you what to sing, what to wear and what to talk about - it just wasn't me."

However, Steve is not bitter about the show, in fact he has no regrets at all about appearing on it, despite the grilling he got each week from Sharon Osbourne.

"I actually loved doing the X Factor and I always get misquoted on stuff about it. People always speak out about the fact that I had to have this certain management which is true but I really loved it, I had a great time.

"For me it was a life changing experience and I would tell anyone who wanted to go on it to do it but just make sure you keep your eyes open.

"If you carry on thinking that you are the best thing since sliced bread then you are deluded and people will see that.

"The show is just an opportunity and the worst thing to do is to think that everything will get handed to you on a plate afterwards."

Steve begins his tour next month and is looking forward to performing in Croydon again. He knows the area well after growing up in Mitcham and later living in Reigate before moving to Wimbledon where he currently lives.

"I used to do all my drinking in Croydon and I used to shop there as well. The last time I played in Croydon was when I supported Dionne Warwick and in two years I have gone from supporting her to doing my own gig at the same place. I am so excited about the tour."

He still revels in the recognition he gets from fans and is realistic about where he would be without appearing in one of the biggest reality shows on television.

However he believes that hard graft also has a big part to play and that the secret of his success is far closer to home.

"What actually made me is the fact that I have got a bloody good voice.

"There is only so long that I can thank my singing teacher and it is the same with X Factor and it is really nice to come to terms with that fact - especially when you have people like Sharon Osbourne telling you that you are crap.

"If you work hard then luck and opportunity will come together and you can only do our best. If you do not believe in yourself then no-one else will.

"I know that there are a lot of singers out there better than me but I'd like people to judge for themselves and come and see the show."

Steve's album, 40,000 Things is out in shops on September 25.

He is playing at The Ashcroft Theatre at The Fairfield on Friday, October 13 at 7.30pm. For tickets, call the box office on 8688 9291.