A POPSTAR from Maldon appeared on a popular children’s television show to sing about being proud of who you are.

Eurovision star Sam Ryder, 33, made a guest appearance on the CBeebies Bedtime Story show last night.

He sang the story True Colours from the book written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, and illustrated by Sarah Walsh, which is based on the hit 1986 song by Cyndi Lauper.

Mr Ryder stood in front of a rainbow flag and asked viewers: “Do you like my colourful jumper?”

“We are all colourful inside and out. I am going to sing you tonight’s bedtime story.”

Mr Ryder’s acapella version sees him sing: “You with the sad eyes don’t be discouraged, oh I realise it’s hard to take courage.”

The broadcast coincided with World Kindness Day which encourages people to make the world a better place.

When the UK went into lockdown in March 2020, Mr Ryder began uploading singing videos to TikTok which caught the attention of global stars, including Justin Bieber and Alicia Keys.

He later signed to the Parlophone record label, part of Warner Music Group and was selected to compete for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest.

He came second behind Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra in this year’s contest, giving the UK its best result in more than 20 years.

CBeebies Bedtime Story is on daily at 6.50pm and on BBC iPlayer.