There was a buzz in Witham town centre on Monday as Olly Murs came home.

The brief visit allowed enough time for a drink with his mates and a few frames of pool.

The whistle-stop tour of the town was hastily organised last Friday and Olly’s mum Vicky said she didn’t even know her talented son was returning to his home town.

Olly, 25, stopped for almost two hours in his local, The George in Newland Street.

The ever-popular crooner had an ITV film crew with him as he stopped off in the town centre pub where he would regularly play live and sing karaoke before becoming a household name on this year’s X Factor.

Olly, of Carraways, had a good chat with John Fisher, landlord of the pub.

Mr Fisher said: “It was quite nice and quite informal. He was like the President, signing autgraphs and kissing babies.”

He said the singer showed him his “bruised and swollen” hand which he hurt while hitting a punch bag last week.

Olly was “upset” his fellow X Factor competitor Jamie Archer was knocked out of the show, according to Mr Fisher.

The 52-year-old, who has run The George for six years, said at the weekend his pub is packed out with people watching the show and he said he has no doubt Olly can go on and win it.

He said: “We knew he could sing and dance but having the extra tuition has made him even better. It was funny as while he was here we played Superstitious (the Stevie Wonder classic that Olly impressed with at his first televised audition).”

Mr Fisher said Olly isn’t paying attention to stories written about him in the tabloids, where his love life is always under the microscope.

“The only people who have a bad word to say is the people who are jealous,” he said.

Olly’s brief visit to Witham was kept quiet so the pub was not mobbed by fans. After a few drinks he was whisked away in a black people carrier.