Being born without any sense of smell has led to some tricky experiences for Little Mix star Perrie Edwards , but the condition also put her life in danger. The singer has revealed she was only diagnosed with the condition after a fire ripped through the kitchen of her South Shields childhood home - but she was completely unaware as she couldn’t smell burning. Perrie, who turns 31 next week, recalls: “I couldn't smell it.

Our kitchen had set on fire. I saw the black smoke come under the door. And then I started coughing because it takes your breath away.

” While the family escaped unharmed, the frightening incident concerned her mum enough to take her for tests. Doctors diagnosed her with congenital anosmia, a lack of the sense from birth - believed to affect 1 in 10,000 people. “I had surgery, came out, had big tampons in my nose, recovered for a while.

And then I swear to God I could smell coffee. I woke up and smelled the coffee.” However it didn’t last long and she soon found herself unable to smell anything.

The doctors told her parents she would need to have the procedure again - but Perrie decided against it. “I was like, I'm not going through that again. I don't care.

If I had it and lost it, fair enough. But I've never had it, so why care?” Many people with no sense of smell also lose their interest in food, but that’s never been an issue for Perrie as she tells The Dish From Waitrose podcast she's a real foodie. On the struggles of staying fit on to.