Star of ITV’s The Voice, Shaka McFarlane, told of her joy at bringing lessons she learned on the show back to her students at a musical theatre company in Reading.

Shaka, 28, has taught at Theatre Train Reading for almost a decade and continued to do so while making it to the semi-finals of the singing competition under the guidance of Olly Murs.

As the final airs tonight at 8pm, she told the Chronicle what it was like to work with the singer and how the show has made her a better vocal coach.

“I started singing from the age of three around the church and my family,” said Shaka, from Leicester.

“My mum thought right: She clearly likes to entertain, she’s lapping it right up, so they put me in a Stage Coach Performing Arts”

“I started off just like the kids I teach now, so I feel like I’m on a whole full circle moment.”

When Shaka first sung for the judges in the second round of blind auditions, she didn’t realise Murs had spun around until the end of her song due to a visual impairment, even though he recognized her talent after just five words.

“It was a crazy one. I didn’t even realize that Ollie had turned until I had finished singing.

“Because of my visual impairment and all the lights were going off and I was giving you wild Tina Turner action running up and down the stage, I just didn’t clock it at all.

“To be on team Olly made sense because he’s a showman and I’m a showman and I said to be in the care of someone who will understand how much energy I have, the adrenaline I have and actually see past anything that was a bit shaky.

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She continued: “No matter how I feel it sounded, or how I was feeling, I still brought it.

“That’s not a big-headed thing, I say it to my students all the time: ‘If you feel 40 per cent on one day, and all you can give in the room is 40 per cent in your mind, that’s your 100 per cent for the day and I’ll take it.

“I think that’s a really important thing, and even my students they were so excited when I came in saying ‘oh my goodness that was great’ but I am my own worst critic.”

This year wasn’t the first time Shaka had been asked to audition for The Voice.

But when they came back to her almost a decade later, she said she was ready to grow and perform outside of musical theatre.

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“Way back in 2013, I was asked to audition and I said no. Fast forward almost ten years later, and here I am now on the show so I now say to my students never say never.”

She said: “I always tell my students ‘the learning never stops’ so I enjoyed being the prime example of that.”

Ahead of tonight’s final, she said she was proud of all the contestants and that the 40 finalists remain friends in a shared group chat.

“To have the unity of saying, we did this and I understand what we’re going through.

“We’ve been waiting for this to come out for a hot minute, so we’ve definitely just been on the support wagon.

“Everyone is a wonderful artist.”

Shaka will be hosting a Six: The Musical masterclass workshop on November 12 at Theatre Train Reading for ages six and over.

Email reading@theatretrain.co.uk for more details.