Celeb inspired by late sibling

MARTIN Bashir was driven to go on X Factor Celebrity because his brother’s death has made him take risks.

TV interviewer Martin lost his beloved sibling Tommy at 29 after a lifelong struggle against muscle disease.

And he has revealed that he still hears Tommy’s voice whenever he is faced with a daunting situation.

Speaking on the opening show about his reasons for taking part, he said: “Every time I have faced a challenge, I have heard him whispering saying, ‘What excuse do you have? You have no excuse. You have never sung but someone has come to you and said, ‘Give it a shot’.’ And that is my motivation.”

Tommy was born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal condition which causes muscle degeneration. He died in 1991, having been cared for BY MARK JEFFERIES by Martin and his mum for much of his life.

Martin, one of five children, said: “When you grow up with a child and you fight over toys at four and he never fights back and then, by the time he is 13 he can’t feed himself, you feel that you have no excuse for turning down opportunities.”

Martin added that he was “emotionally bowled over” as he explained why he is competing to the judges.

Simon Cowell told him: “It is always about the person and the story and we related to your story.”

Others competing include a band made up of Love Island contestants, Baywatch star David Hasselhoff ’s daughter Hayley and Jenny “The Vixen” from quiz show The Chase.

X Factor Celebrity starts on STV tomorrow at 8.35pm.