Amber Riley: 'The cold English weather gave me pneumonia!'

Amber Riley has struggled to acclimatise to London's cold weather after relocating to England for a year while she stars in Dreamgirls.

The 30-year-old singer is currently appearing in the West End production as Effie White, the role taken on by Jennifer Hudson in the 2006 movie remake of the musical.

Committing to the show has seen Amber move from Los Angeles, where she was born and raised, so getting used to the chilly temperatures has taken some getting used to. In fact, Amber found it so tough to cope in the cold when she first moved to London that she ended up falling ill with pneumonia and had to take a temporary leave from the production.

"I was a little sick - I was an L.A. girl, in London I had to fight the elements just like everyone else," she said during an interview on U.K. TV show This Morning on Friday (27Jan17). "It's pretty cold! For the first time yesterday my eyeballs were literally cold."

The weather hasn't been the only difficult part of setting up a base in London - Amber has also been struggling with homesickness. But she knew when she was offered the role of Effie that she couldn't turn it down.

"I'm a family girl and I'm born and raised in L.A. so my whole entire family is from L.A. but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity in my career - there was no way I was going to say no," she admitted.

Amber found fame starring in U.S. TV show Glee, which saw her showcase her incredible voice. But appearing on stage in Dreamgirls has pushed the star in ways she didn't know possible.

"I feel like as the show has progressed, even in the rehearsals, I am singing in a way that I never thought was possible," she smiled. "I found a part of my voice that I didn't even know was there. And I found a part of my voice in Glee that I didn't even know was there, and to me that was amazing."