SINGER Ava Mannings has revealed that she was diagnosed with a brain tumour days after being announced as the winner of The Voice UK – and is now restarting her music career, two years on.
Ava, aged 23, was poised for stardom after winning a record deal on the ITV talent show.
But her diagnosis meant she had to undergo major surgery and put her whole life on hold, including the chance to live her dream by recording an album of her own songs.
Ava, who grew up in Fishponds, Downend and Frenchay, posted a video on her Instagram page in September to “explain the massive gap” to fans.
She said: “Unfortunately Miss Ava here was diagnosed with a brain tumour back in October 2024, about a week after everyone found out that I had won The Voice, so that’s why I disappeared so quickly.”
Ava told Downend Voice she is glad to be able to work, think and make music again but said: “It’s like I’m back to the start.”
She said winning the contest was a “massive achievement” but she never got to experience that achievement.
Ava said: “It was all very traumatic.
“I still can’t really understand it – your life changes, and then your life changes again a second later. You felt amazing, and your life was about to start – and then it ended.”
Ava had to use some of her £50,000 prize money from the show on treatment.
Universal Music UK, which gave her a deal with its Island EMI label, paused it after her diagnosis and is now working with Ava again, finding musicians to suit her and the new songs she is writing.
Ava said: “The last two years have been insanely hard but I’ve got to channel that into my music.
“I just want to sing again, I want everyone to hear what I’ve got to sing about.
“I didn’t realise I would have to sing about something so sad.
“I still get upset about it, but what I would say is, when I can’t speak, my music will.”
Ava recorded herself singing while she was undergoing surgery – something other musicians have done during similar operations to help surgeons check their brain function – and says she is looking for a way to use it in a song.
Ava said: “I wanted to see what my brain would work like if it’s being messed around with.
“It’s not perfect but it’s beautiful to me.”
Ava, who lives in Winterbourne, worked as a dog groomer at Top Groom in Downend before winning The Voice UK, and sometimes visits to do some shifts for owner Caroline Clancy.
She said: “It’s really lovely to see Caroline and the customers, just for a few days or a few hours to keep me sociable – I’ve been in my house for a very long time!
“I enjoy seeing all the dogs – I live with cats, so I like to see dogs every now and then.”
Ava is planning to post some cover versions of songs on her Instagram and Facebook channels in the coming months before releasing her own music
She said: “At the start of next year there will be Ava on the radio!”