Sophie Ellis-Bextor is glad she was a "freaky" teenager.

The 'Murder on the Dancefloor' singer didn't mind being ignored by boys when she was younger because it taught her not to rely on her looks.

She said: "I think my looks stood me in good stead because when I was a teenager, boys were just not interested. I didn't see myself as a good looking girl and that was good, because I didn't rely on it.

"It's not a big deal to be pretty - there are loads of pretty girls out there - so it's good to stand out. A lot of what inspired many musicians is celebrating differences. People relate to that - more people feel like the unpopular, freaky one than the one in the in-crowd."

Sophie - who has two sons, five-year-old Sonny and Kit Valentine, six months, with her husband, The Feeling bassist Richard Jones - admits she still feels like an outsider but has now found a group of friends she can relate to.

The 30-year-old brunette star said: "I still feel like that all the time. But not I have found lots of like-minded weirdos so it is OK now. And now I'm producing my own crazy-looking offspring."