KASHELLE Taylor has found fame after finding God.

The Fartown singer and actor is hoping to become a regular on TV screens after turning her life around at a Birkby church.

The 24-year-old will appear on X Factor later this month and will feature in an episode of Emmerdale in October.

Kashelle, who worships at Shabach Outreach Ministry on St John’s Road, said: “It’s amazing, the church is like a family to me.”

Success came early for Kashelle when she won a role on BBC drama Doctors in 2001. But things started to go wrong when she moved to London to further her career in 2002.

She said: “I went there to get famous but instead I came back to Huddersfield the next year pregnant.

“Being a single mother made me feel suicidal. I hardly left the house and I put on so much weight, going from a size 10 to a size 20.”

But back in Huddersfield with her son A’Tahje, who is now four, things turned around for Kashelle when she joined Shabach.

She said: “My pastor encouraged me to get back to singing and acting. I started singing in the choir and got myself a new agent.”

In July she won a place on X Factor, travelling down to Oxfordshire for “boot camp” in August with 200 other hopefuls.

Kashelle said: “We were taken to a hotel in a secret location. I thought there would be lots of training but we ended up practising among ourselves a lot.”

Her performance of Bridge Over Troubled Water got her through to the final 42 girls. But a rendition of gospel song I Love The Lord wasn’t enough to win a place in the final 12.

Kashelle said: “It was nerve-wracking and I was really upset not to get through.”

And she had a mixed impression of the show’s judges.

Kashelle said: “I was really excited to meet them. Simon Cowell said I was the prettiest girl he had ever seen in the competition but Dannii Minogue was less encouraging, she said I was only getting through on my looks.”

But Kashelle’s disappointment at not going further on the talent show was soon tempered by good news.

She said: “My church leaders said they were praying for me and that something better would come along. Two days after I left X Factor I found out I had got a part in Emmerdale.”

Kashelle will appear in an episode of the soap next month playing Kelly Windsor’s bridal hairdresser Melanie.

She said: “I did two days of filming last week which was an amazing experience.”

And there could be more good news for Kashelle, who will travel to London soon to audition for the group Cushh who have already had a top 30 hit.

She said: “They are looking for a new lead singer. I sang down the phone to them and they were impressed.”