Lucy Spraggan: Former X Factor star reveals sexual assault during filming

Former X Factor contestant Lucy Spraggan has revealed she was raped by a edifice porter during the accumulation of the ITV amusement successful 2012.

She withdrew from the show, citing an unwellness astatine the time, but told the Guardian the existent crushed was due to the fact that she was attacked.

Spraggan said she felt fto down by the programme makers.

Simon Cowell, creator of X Factor, said what happened to Spraggan was "horrific and heart-breaking".

"When I was fixed the accidental to talk to Lucy, I was capable to personally archer her however atrocious I was astir everything she has been through.

"Lucy is 1 of the astir authentic, talented and brave radical I person ever met."

Spraggan, who was 20 astatine the time, said the battle happened aft a nighttime retired successful cardinal London celebrating the 25th day of chap contestant Rylan Clark.

In her caller memoir, Process: Finding My Way Through, the 31-year-old waives the close to anonymity granted to victims of intersexual offences to archer her communicative for the archetypal time.

She said she was escorted backmost to the edifice by a subordinate of the accumulation squad erstwhile a edifice porter offered to instrumentality her to her room.

She told the Guardian: "I woke up the adjacent time with this consciousness of sheer dread.

"I don't deliberation I've ever felt that level of disorder since. I knew that I'd been raped, but I could not process that. So I enactment my apparel connected and went into autopilot."

Although the accumulation squad called constabulary and an apprehension was rapidly made, Spraggan said she believed they were "unprepared" to woody with what had happened.

Spraggan received fiscal and aesculapian enactment successful the contiguous aftermath of the crime, but the vocalist said she wasn't fixed immoderate enactment aft the proceedings successful which her attacker was convicted.

An ITV spokesperson praised Spraggan for her "resilience and bravery", adding the bid was produced by Thames (part of Fremantle) and Syco, owned by Simon Cowell.

They said it was those 2 companies which were "primarily liable for work of attraction towards each of its programme contributors".

A spokesperson for Fremantle said "to our knowledge, the battle was an lawsuit without precedent successful the UK tv industry" and they "believed passim that we were doing our champion to enactment Lucy".

But they added: "As Lucy thinks we could person done more, we indispensable truthful recognise this. For everything Lucy has suffered, we are highly sorry.

"Since then, we person done our precise champion to larn lessons from these events and amended our aftercare processes.

"Whilst we person worked hard to effort and support Lucy's beingness close to anonymity, we applaud her spot and bravery present that she has chosen to waive that right."

You tin spot an exclusive broadcast interrogation with Lucy Spraggan connected the BBC connected Sunday.