SHE is a chart star in her own right, Simon Cowell's 'go-to' girl on many series of X Factor and no stranger to reality TV shows and presenting duties.

But for all her success, Sinitta doesn't take anything for granted.

On Saturday she will be in Blackpool for the Livewire Festival when she appears as part of Pete Waterman's Hit Factory alongside the likes of Jason Donovan and Pepsi and Shirlie.

Hits such as So Macho and Toy Boy brought her to the attention of music lovers in the Eighties and she will be bringing the memories of those times flooding back with her set at Livewire.

"One of the nicest things for me is to know I was a happy part of people's childhoods," she said. "People will say 'yours was the first record I bought' or 'I met my girlfriend on the dancefloor with your record playing'. Who would have thought that?

"We were just having a good time ourselves and to be a teenage girl going through all that at the time was wondrous.

"It is probably more special all these years later to still be celebrated and have people come up with all these happy memories.

"At time you are just coping with it and it's crazy but to be appreciated after all this time and still have people loving the music is fantastic."

Sinitta said she was delighted to be asked to be part the Hits Factory show by producer Pete Waterman who will introduce the acts.

"Pete has always been there for us," said Sinitta, "so whenever he calls if I can I will always turn up for him.

"He has played such a big part in my career."

Stars of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman hit factory first reunited at London's O2 in 2012

"When we did that, we had so much fun getting everyone back together again," said Sinitta. "I think that Livewire is going to have a very similar feel."

Sinitta has achieved so much since her early pop success.

"If it hadn't been for that early success, all of the things that I have done night not have happened," she said.

"But you can't take it for granted. If you have a hit, you can't just sit back and think you've made it.

"You have to keep on at it and really you have to have different strings to your bow which for me has meant theatre, TV, films, mentoring - all different aspects of the industry and I love them all. But there is no substitute for hard work. It takes a lot of hard work and I think some good luck as well."

For Livewire, Sinitta will be showcasing a new version of her biggest hit So Macho produced by Louie Anderson.

"He is very hip and happening on the dance scene at the moment," she said. "There will also be a little bit of a lyric change which I think people will appreciate.

"I always try and do new things. It's nice to have the parents who have grown up with me but now I get to talk to the kids who know me through the new stuff like X Factor. They don't remember my music career, they know me as the X Factor girl or the reality TV star so I've got to try and make music that will appeal to them as well. I think we have got that right with this.

"You have to win their respect and I thought the perfect way to do that was to take one of the old songs and make it something new."

Sinitta plays the Livewire Festival, Blackpool Headland as part of Pete Waterman's Hits Factory, Saturday, August 26. Details from www.livewirefestival.co.uk