A COUPLE who were given the opportunity of a lifetime after appearing on a TV singing contest have spoken out about being away from their friends and families over the festive period.

Ryan North and Tania Hambleton appeared on ITV’s The Voice earlier this year after singer Olly Murs was wowed by their vocals.

But despite not winning the show their lives have been far from normal since the competition ended - in fact the pair have spent the last six months travelling the world together while working as singers on a cruise ship.

Since September the pair have sailed all around America, and spent Christmas Day in Barbados.

Speaking about their whirlwind year, former St Wilfrid’s Academy, Blackburn, student Ryan said it was a no-brainer to take up the opportunity.

He said: “To have a platform big enough to both leave our jobs back home and embark on this adventure halfway across the world is truly amazing, and we feel thankful every day.

“We knew straight away this was something which we couldn’t turn down - to travel and see parts of the world we’ve never seen, and to be able to do what we love doing every day as our job felt like a dream come true.”

Despite enjoying the opportunity of a lifetime, the pair admitted they have been struggling over the festive period with being away from family hitting them hard.

Ryan said: “It’s the first time for both of us that we’ve spent it away from family, and we are missing them more than we thought we would.

“We do get to call them on a daily basis, but it’s just not the same."

The pair, who are due to return to England at the end of January, admitted that one of the best parts about being away was their new relaxed lifestyle.

Ryan said: “We have most days to ourselves and get to explore all of the beautiful islands that we stop off at.

“We make the most of relaxing throughout the day by sunbathing, snorkelling and writing music. The evenings are always crazy for us - entertaining guests for four hours a night is more tiring than it sounds.

“We’ve been getting some amazing feedback, and have met so many lovely people who have invited us to stay with them in America when our time on the ship ends.”