Lucy Spraggan: X Factor 'like abusive relationship'

Former X Factor contestant Lucy Spraggan has told BBC News that taking portion successful the amusement successful 2012 felt similar being successful "an abusive relationship".

She has revealed the crushed she near the ITV amusement abruptly aft week 3 was due to the fact that she had been raped, and was not ill, arsenic reported astatine the time.

The singer-songwriter says the manufacture needs to alteration to amended support radical taking portion successful world TV shows.

Both ITV and Fremantle accidental they are evolving their work of attraction processes.

X Factor was made for ITV by Talkback Thames - portion of accumulation institution Fremantle - and Simon Cowell's institution Syco.

Simon Cowell has described what happened to Spraggan arsenic "horrific and heartbreaking".

Spraggan has waived her ineligible close to anonymity, granted to victims of intersexual offences, to talk to the BBC successful her archetypal broadcast interview.

In 2012, X Factor was 1 of the UK's most-watched TV shows and Spraggan became an overnight sensation erstwhile millions watched her audition.

"From that infinitesimal on, my beingness changed forever," she tells the BBC.

"From the beginning, they benignant of marque you into a caricature of yourself. It's astir similar there's a storyline written for you," she adds.

Spraggan, who was 20 astatine the time, says the contestants were instantly enactment nether immense pressure.

"From the precise archetypal signifier that connection was reiterated and reiterated and reiterated to the constituent wherever that's each you judge - [that] 'this is the biggest accidental of my life,'" she says.

Now 31, she says she has ne'er since experienced a concern wherever "somebody wholly takes the reins of my life".

"If I had experienced that again, arsenic a mean quality being, I would person said that I would person been successful an abusive relationship."

Spraggan details her experiences connected the amusement successful her caller memoir, Process: Finding My Way Through, including the intersexual assault.

It happened astatine a edifice wherever she and her chap contestant - the broadcaster Rylan Clark - had been moved to, distant from the others.

They had initially been staying astatine the luxury Corinthia Hotel successful cardinal London, wherever Spraggan says they were guarded by 24-hour security.

She says the show's producers told her the edifice had asked the brace to permission due to the fact that they were "causing excessively overmuch trouble". Headlines had branded them "party animals".

"So Rylan and I ever benignant of were nether the content that we were removed, due to the fact that that supported the narrative," Spraggan says.

The brace were not fixed further information astatine the caller hotel, she adds.

The nighttime they were moved, Spraggan attended Rylan's day enactment astatine a nine successful Mayfair.

Spraggan says she can't retrieve what happened that nighttime and has pieced unneurotic the incidental done accusation from the constabulary and others.

She knows she was not conscious - due to the fact that she had been drinking intoxicant astatine the enactment - erstwhile she was escorted backmost to the edifice by a subordinate of the accumulation team.

"The edifice porter that had offered his assistance to get maine up to bed… got a cardinal card, fto himself into my country and raped me," she explains.

In 2013, Soby John pleaded blameworthy to the onslaught and was sentenced to 10 years successful prison.

Rylan was the archetypal idiosyncratic Spraggan told astir what happened. "He was unbelievable," she says, describing him arsenic "an angel".

Spraggan says being examined by constabulary for grounds was "one of the worst experiences" of her life. But she besides knew that the amusement - which turned unknowns into singing stars - was the biggest accidental of her life, and the 4th unrecorded amusement was owed to beryllium filmed the pursuing day.

"It was like, this bonzer thing's happened. The constabulary are here, I've conscionable had this examination. And radical inactive asking me, 'What bash you privation to do? What bash you privation to do?' And I was like, 'I privation to transportation connected with the show.'

"It benignant of shows you what benignant of satellite you are in, successful what benignant of mindset you are in, to not beryllium capable to truly measurement what has happened, and what you should bash now."

Lucy says the time aft the onslaught she was enactment successful different edifice room, with a information defender outside.

"I retrieve benignant of having to peel myself distant from jumping disconnected the balcony. Like having to consciously bash that."

She decided to permission the amusement aft week 3 of the competition. But she wasn't voted retired by the nationalist oregon the show's judges - she realised that mentally she couldn't continue.

To explicate wherefore she had left, ITV announced that she was ill. Spraggan says she feels she had to spell on with the communicative astatine the time, but says she is present relieved she tin archer the truth.

Spraggan felt similar she didn't get capable enactment successful the aftermath of the onslaught - and successful the pursuing years her intelligence wellness deteriorated considerably and she abused intoxicant and drugs. She has present been sober for astir 4 years.

Fremantle said: "Whilst we believed passim that we were doing our champion to enactment Lucy, arsenic Lucy thinks we could person done more, we indispensable truthful recognise this. For everything Lucy has suffered, we are highly sorry."

The prima is present calling for each accumulation and broadcast companies to amended see employees' and participants' intelligence wellness - by mounting speech a information of their budgets to put successful intelligence wellbeing services.

"I don't privation to destruct anything. I privation to physique a amended infrastructure," she says.

"We request these shows, due to the fact that there's a thriving assemblage of talented radical who conscionable don't person the funds and the accidental to get there."

X Factor's creator, Simon Cowell was not a justice successful 2012 due to the fact that helium was successful America launching X Factor US. Spraggan says she was acceptable to springiness him "a portion of my mind" erstwhile helium called her, aft she had contacted his radical to accidental she was penning her book.

She says helium said, "Lucy, earlier you oregon I accidental thing else, the archetypal happening I request to archer you is that I americium sorry."

Spraggan reflects: "It makes maine affectional due to the fact that no-one other said sorry. And each it took was this 1 antheral to dainty maine similar a quality being, 11 years later."

In 2021, Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, announced changes to its Broadcasting Code to amended support radical made susceptible by their information successful TV shows. The changes were introduced aft suicides involving contestants from Love Island and The Jeremy Kyle Show successful 2018 and 2019.

Earlier this year, the BBC and ITV announced they were joining forces to enlistee much registered psychologists to enactment TV programmes successful their work of attraction to contributors.

"My dependable is highly inconvenient for a batch of people. I've been petrified of telling the truth, due to the fact that I'll suffer what I have," Spraggan says.

"If I person to beryllium the archetypal idiosyncratic who says 'I'm really not frightened to basal up against you [the industry]', I will. And hopefully it inspires different radical to beryllium a small spot braver too."

In a statement, ITV said it had"the deepest compassion for Lucy". It said the accumulation companies, Fremantle and Syco, were chiefly liable for the work of attraction towards each of its programme contributors.

But it added it "is committed to having successful place… robust oversight procedures, to [ensure] that autarkic producers employment the close processes to support the intelligence wellness and payment of participants".