Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock confirms first solo gig since Jesy Nelson went on an extended break

Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock has landed a Rom-com role...

Leigh-Anne Pinnock with Little Mix
(Image credit: Neil Mockford / Contributor)
Selina Maycock
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Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock has teased her new movie venture - her first solo role since Jesy Nelson took an extended break from the band.

The singer-turned-actress is set to star in upcoming British romantic comedy Boxing Day, and it comes just days after the band - which stars Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirwall, and Jesy Nelson - announced some changes.

Little Mix, who has Harry Styles secretly feature on one of their songs, are to be a trio after news Jesy is to take an extended break from the band due to "private medical reasons".

And Leigh-Anne has wasted no time in getting a solo project lined up. She joins an all-Black cast for the Christmas comedy movie with actor Aml Ameen making his debut as a director for the light-hearted film which has now started production.

A post shared by Leigh-Anne Pinnock (@leighannepinnock)

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Clearly excited, Leigh-Anne shared the news with her fans on her Instagram story where she reposted a post from her boyfriend singer Ashford Campbell detailing the venture. He captioned the post: "Leigh-Anne Pinnock I cannot even begin to put into words how PROUD of you I am."

To which she replied with gritted teeth and heart-shaped eye emojis.

The film follows the story of British author (played by Ameen) who returns to London for Christmas to introduce his American fiancée (Aja Naomi King) to his wild British-Caribbean family. But it's testing time to see if their relationship can last with his hidden past revealed.

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And Little Mix fans are incredibly supportive. One wrote: "So proud"; while another put: "Yaaass @leighannepinnock....Congratulations for getting this role Leigh."

Speaking about his upcoming directorial debut, Ameen said: "It is such an honor to be teaming up with Warner Bros. Pictures, Film4 and BFI to bring Black British Culture to the world in this universal holiday rom-com.

"It’s long been a dream of mine to capture films that reflect the wonderfully multi-cultural city that raised me while sharing stories from the diary of my life."

Joining Leigh-Anne on the film is How to Get Away with Murder alum Aja Naomi King, and Golden Globe and BAFTA-winner Marianne Jean-Baptise (Secrets & Lies).

We can't wait to see Leigh-Anne on the big screen!

Selina Maycock
Selina Maycock

Selina is a Senior Entertainment Writer with more than 14 years of experience in newspapers and magazines. She currently looks after all things Entertainment for GoodtoKnow, Woman&Home and My Imperfect Life.

Before joining Future Publishing, Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. She is fully NCTJ and NCE qualified and has 100wpm shorthand. Having spent the start of her career working on local newspapers and online, Selina spent six years as Acting News Editor and Entertainment Reporter at the Scunthorpe Telegraph where she dug into hard news stories, conducted interviews, covered court reporting, features, and entertainment, whilst going to gigs in her spare time.

Whilst at the paper she was awarded an O2 Media Judges' Special Award for helping a terminally ill cancer sufferer realise his dying wish and marry his childhood sweetheart through a successful newspaper campaign. Things like this are close to her heart when it comes to using journalism to make a positive difference in people's lives.

Selina later branched further into all things celebrity to became a Showbiz Writer at Heat magazine, covering red carpet events, showbiz parties, and various launches before going freelance for two years. One of her biggest celebrity achievements - aside from generating celebrity exclusives - was interviewing Take That (including Robbie Williams) and bumping into Simon Cowell so much at events she told him 'I'm calling you my showbiz dad!'

In 2017 she joined TI Media as a senior reporter on Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, Woman's Weekly celebrity desk before branching online in 2020 when Future gave her the opportunity to focus on digital-first.

When she's not interviewing celebrities you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories.

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