It might be a far cry from the glitzy lifestyle of the London celebrity circuit. But as chart-topper Kimberley Walsh arrived back at the family home in Allerton, she vowed her number one choice for Christmas was Bradford.

The 21-year-old rocketed to pop stardom at the weekend when her band Girls Aloud secured the Christmas top spot with their debut hit Sound of the Underground.

Kimberley, pictured, returned to a murky Bradford yesterday, pulling up in her people carrier loaded with luggage from her long stay in the capital.

She spent most of the afternoon shopping for last minute Christmas presents with her boyfriend, Stockport County footballer Martin Pemberton.

But the past few months have been an amazing whirl for Kimberley.

And she still can't believe how her life had been transformed.

"Three or four months ago I was just a student going to university and now I've got a Christmas number one," she said. "I still can't even say it without laughing.

"I am really looking forward to sitting down with my family and watching us on Top of the Pops on Christmas Day."

Kimberley was keen to pass on her thanks to the people of Bradford for helping her secure a place in the band and then for making the record number one.

Kimberley said: "Everybody in Bradford has been absolutely fantastic; I can't thank them enough for what they have done.

"They have been so supportive by voting for me and then buying the record, and without them I wouldn't be here. All of the girls know that it is people in our home towns that have got us where we are."

Kimberley is spending the next two weeks at home before returning to the recording studio and her new home in London.

And - after spending Christmas Day with her family - she plans to catch up with the friends she's not seen since hitting the big time on Popstars: The Rivals.

"I am really looking forward to being at home with my family," she admitted. "We've been working so hard for the last few months that I need a rest.

"I'm still in a state of shock at what has happened and can't seem to get it into my head. I need to have a bit of time at home and then I might be able to look at it from a different perspective because we've been living in this big bubble for so long."

Despite making the pop record books with the hit song, Kimberley's hoping her short stop back in Bradford will be just like it used to be.

"I expect everything to be the same, but maybe that's silly," she said. "I'm going to try to get out to the diner where I used to work and make the effort to see friends who I've not been able to see properly for so long.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody and I hope they are the same with me as they used to be."