WHAT TIME Is it? Yep, it's chico time! The X factor star talked to us after he'd inspired a 2,000-strong crowd to chant his famous catchphrase...

It's just gone midnight in Bognor's Main Stage and Chico is in cool-down mode after bewitching a sea of Hot Summer Party revellers with his Latin moves and catchy tunes. "That reception amazed me," he beams. "I just love the Butlins crowd!" He's definitely doing something right. This is the man who knocked Madonna off the top spot with It's Chico Time, selling 150,000 copies and staying at number 1 for two weeks. In fact, he hasn't looked back since he made it to the final stages of TV talent show The X Factor only two years ago. "I knew I'd have a number 1 within the year."

Chico's confidence comes from his belief in something he calls PMA - Positive Mental Attitude. "It's all about adopting a positive state of mind and having the right outlook on life. I don't entertain negativity. And my critics only fuel my fire to go higher." That's just one of the many ''Chicoisms' he lives by that he's now putting into a book.

His determination to succeed stems from his happy but poor childhood. Born in the UK, he went to live with his grandparents in Morocco when he was two. After working as a goat herder, he came back to the UK at the age of 13 unable to speak a word of English.

"I was very bright, but because of the language barrier I became a naughty school kid. I left school early and needed money to send back to my grandparents. So I became a hairdresser, then an electrical engineer and eventually an exotic dancer. That gave me a taste for the stage. And let's face it, once you can shake your ding-a-ling, you can do anything! It was a testing apprenticeship for real stardom." Now, in an incredible life turnaround, he's recently been invited to perform for the King of Morocco.

But for all this celebrity, the biggest defining moment in his life has been the birth of his daughter, Lalla-Khira, whom he named after his grandmother. Now one, her name means 'divine' in Arabic. "A child puts everything into perspective. It grounds you and makes you realise the important things in life." Such a nice boy.

When can you see him?

Catch Chico on our family breaks throughout the year.