Blackburn presenter AJ Odudu has had a ‘pinch me moment’ in her career after announcing a collaboration with Marks & Spencer (M&S).

The former St Bede’s High School pupil has been named the latest fashion brand ambassador for the multinational retailer.

AJ said she is “buzzing” about the announcement as she used to stack shelves at an M&S branch in her hometown.

The 36-year-old said: “I used to stack shelves in Marks & Spencer on King William Street in Blackburn and now I’m proud to announce that I’m their latest fashion brand ambassador.

"I’m absolutely buzzing! It’s the work uniform I’ve always wanted.”

AJ was recently announced as co-host of new ITV fashion show M&S: Dress The Nation.

The series has been described as a ‘nationwide search’ for M&S’ next fashion designer.

Throughout six episodes, 10 candidates will compete to secure a highly coveted in-house design role working alongside some of the best designers in the industry at M&S’ colleague support centre in London. 

Over the course of the recruitment process, the 10 candidates will be set a series of briefs that will assess their design, problem-solving, commercialism, and collaboration skills. 

Each brief will be reflective of M&S’ design and product development process – from gathering insights to identifying key product trends to designing and developing original products.

The winner of the series will be offered an in-house junior designer role with M&S which will be built around their skillset and experience. 

However, the new products will not be on sale in Blackburn, following M&S announcement it is leaving the town centre.

It is closing its King William Street store and moving to an M&S Foodhall site at Frontier Park in Hyndburn.

The store had said the Blackburn site was no longer viable and other locations in the borough suggested were not suitable. If the move to Hyndburn had not been approved, M&S would have left the area entirely.

You can catch AJ on the new Dress the Nation series when it airs on ITV.