Singer Gabrielle Aplin, who has just released a new single and completed a tour of Asia, will be back in Wiltshire this weekend ready to spend a relaxing Christmas with her family.

Gabrielle, 21, whose parents Lisa and Chris and sister Anna, 18, live in Sutton Benger, near Chippenham, has had a whirlwind year since she became the voice of the John Lewis advertisement in 2012 and her version of The Power of Love topped the singles chart.

This week it was revealed the song had knocked The Pogues’ Eighties Irish folk ballad, Fairytale of New York, off the top spot in the 2012 PPL People Most Played Christmas Songs chart.

Her new single, Salvation, was launched on Sunday and she is delighted with the reaction to the song and the video she helped create that was released alongside it.

She said: “I had never danced before but I really enjoyed it. I had the idea for the video and I was able to put a team together to produce it. A friend was the choreographer and I am very pleased with it. It was great fun.”

Gabrielle, a former pupil of Sheldon School, Chippen-ham, said she did not grow up dreaming of being a singing star or celebrity.

She said: “I always loved music and wanted to work in the industry but I thought I might work for a record label or something like that. My family are all very supportive of me and pleased with my success but I think they just wanted me to be happy doing something I loved.

“It will be lovely to spend Christmas with them as we are all quite busy. We don’t have any big Christmas traditions. Neither my mum nor I eat meat, so there is no point having a huge turkey.

“But I do love Christmas TV and will be watching The Wizard of Oz, Top of the Pops and the Vicar of Dibley.”

Gabrielle said the highlight of her busy year was playing at Glastonbury.

She said: “I had been to Glastonbury when I was 18 and watched it loads of times on TV, so it was a bit surreal actually performing there.

“But I had been there since the Friday with my band just enjoying everything and so by the time it got to me, having to perform on the Sunday, I had stopped being nervous and was just excited.

“I was scheduled to perform at the same time as Mumford and Sons so I was worried no-one would bother turning up to watch me but there were about 1,000 people in my tent and the atmosphere was incredible.”

She says she loves this year’s John Lewis advertisement and is delighted Lily Allen had a number one hit with it.

Gabrielle has just returned from Japan and says she has lots of ideas for new songs.