Rylan Clark has opened up about how he helped his fellow X Factor contestant Lucy Spraggan after she was raped during the time they appeared on the programme.
The two became friends when they competed on the show in 2012, until she suddenly quit during its live rounds – with programme-makers saying her departure was due to “illness”.
In a new interview, Clark, now a broadcaster and media personality, said it was a “horrendous” period and that he had kept the details “quiet” for 11 years.
“That was a really, really tough time,” he told The Guardian. “It was horrendous and I’ve still not spoken about it because it’s not my story to tell, even though I was part of it.
“As a 24-year-old, it was the night of my birthday, to wake up to your friend saying, ‘I was raped last night’, while being on the biggest show in the country while being followed by the press wherever you go… I don’t know how I did it.”
Clark, now 35, said Spraggan dubbed him Jessica Fletcher – Dame Angela Lansbury’s character in Murder, She Wrote – because he leapt into action, telling TV researchers to “go and get the bosses” and making sure the hotel bedroom was not cleaned by staff, to preserve the crime scene.
“I became like a crime detective and I don’t know why that was,” he said.
In her memoir, titled Process: Finding My Way Through, Spraggan said she had to take a drug used to prevent HIV, which made her too unwell to continue on the programme.
She also said the TV production team called the police and an arrest was quickly made, but she believed they were “unprepared” to deal with the situation.
Asked about it, Clark said: “There was a lot that could have been improved. I think everyone learned loads from those kind of mistakes, but I don’t think it was anyone’s fault other than the man who raped Lucy.”
He added: “I’ve worked on reality shows for 12 years now, and I’ve seen the change in duty of care. It’s everyone’s priority now.”
James Arthur was crowned the winner of The X Factor that year. Spraggan went on to have two top-10 albums in the UK charts, with Join The Club reaching seven in 2013 and Choices peaking at five in 2021.
A spokesperson for Fremantle, the British TV company that produced The X Factor for ITV under its Thames TV entertainment arm, previously described the assault on Spraggan as “a truly horrific criminal act for which the perpetrator, who was not connected with the programme, was rightfully prosecuted and imprisoned”.
The spokesperson said: “Anyone should feel safe when they are sleeping in a hotel room and it is abhorrent to think that a hotel porter abused that trust in such a vile way.
“To our knowledge, the assault was an event without precedent in the UK television industry. Whilst we believed throughout that we were doing our best to support Lucy in the aftermath of the ordeal, as Lucy thinks we could have done more, we must therefore recognise this.
“For everything Lucy has suffered, we are extremely sorry. Since then, we have done our very best to learn lessons from these events and improve our aftercare processes.
“Whilst we have worked hard to try and protect Lucy’s lifetime right to anonymity, we applaud her strength and bravery now that she has chosen to waive that right.”
Ireland’s Eurovision entry, Bambie Thug, has called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to “gain some conscience” and “humanity,” as the contest bosses struggle to keep politics off the stage at the annual competition.
The 31-year-old, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns “they” and “them”, also said “they cried with their team” when they found out Israel had got through to the grand final of the contest.
Bambie is currently fifth favourite to win the competition with “ouija pop” song Doomsday Blue.
Israel’s act, Eden Golan, will competewith her song Hurricane which was reworked after an initial version titled October Rain was ruled too political by the EBU, which believed some lyrics referred to the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.
In March, Bambie was one of the nine contestants – including the UK’s Olly Alexander, Finland’s Windows95Man and Switzerland’s Nemo – who called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the “safe return” of Israeli hostages in a joint statement.
Earlier in the week, Bambie said the EBU prevented them from displaying a pro-Palestinian message during their performance during the first semi-final.
They told reporters at an earlier news conference that they had been forced to change writing painted on their body which had been painted in an early Medieval alphabet which translated to “ceasefire and freedom”.
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At the time, a spokesperson for the EBU said: “The writing seen on Bambie Thug’s body during dress rehearsals contravened contest rules that are designed to protect the non-political nature of the event.
“After discussions with the Irish delegation, they agreed to change the text for the live show.”
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Bambie said for the EBU to better handle future political issues it needed to focus on “gaining some heart and some conscience and some humanity”.
During an earlier rehearsal on Wednesday, Golan was met with some boos and cries of “Free Palestine”, and an audience member appeared to have a Palestinian flag removed from them in the auditorium.
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Eurovision fans boo Israeli singer
Separately, Spain’s state-owned broadcaster hit out at the EBU on Friday, calling for it to respect “press and opinion” at this year’s event.
RTVE wrote on social media: “The Spanish delegation from @eurovision_tve has conveyed to @EBU_HQ its commitment to freedom of the press and opinion and has asked that @Eurovision let them watch it.”
The post was made shortly after it was announced that Madrid would be hosting the Junior Eurovision Song Contest later this year.
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Some 26 countries, including UK entry Olly Alexander, 33, with his track Dizzy, are due to battle it out for the coveted Eurovision glass trophy tonight.
When asked if they and other acts were supportive of him, Bambie said: “I don’t know what exactly happened with the incident, but I am with anyone who was pro-Palestine.”
There is no indication that today’s “incident” is linked to disagreements about the situation in the Middle East.
Joost had been part of the flag parade at the start of Friday’s rehearsal, and walked around the stage in full costume, but then failed to arrive on stage for his performance around 30 minutes later.
He later failed to perform in the grand final jury vote – which is the final rehearsal before the real show.
The EBU – which has said the investigation is “ongoing” – is yet to confirm whether Joost will be performing in the grand final tonight.
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Golan responded to a question over whether she was a ‘security risk’
Bambie also said they were worried Ireland might miss out on votes due to the ongoing boycott to stop Eurovision.
They said: “I’m fearful that we will miss a lot of votes because of the boycotting, and that those then will make someone else have more of a chance to win.
“I don’t think it should, but there are 200 million viewers.”
They said people should vote for Bambie Thug “for art, for change, to shake things up and for best song, best performer in the competition”.
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The crowd chanting ‘Joost’ and booing in response to his absence
Croatia is currently predicted to win the contest, followed by Israel, with fellow non-binary contestant Nemo, who is competing for Switzerland, resting in third place.
Meanwhile, Irish premier Simon Harris has said the “whole country will be rooting” for Bambie, who is the first Irish finalist since 2018.
:: Sky News will be in Malmo with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the final as it happens
The Netherlands’ Eurovision entry Joost Klein is under investigation by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) due to an unexplained “incident” – and will not be rehearsing again until “further notice”.
The Dutch singer, 26, missed his slot in the show’s penultimate dress rehearsal in Malmo, Sweden, on Friday, where he had been due to perform his track Europapa in fifth place, ahead of Israel’s Eden Golan, 20, with her song Hurricane.
It is not yet clear if Klein will be performing in the Eurovision Song Contest’s grand final on Saturday.
The EBU said in a statement: “We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice.
“We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course.”
Klein had been part of the flag parade at the start of the rehearsal, and walked around the stage in full costume, but then failed to arrive on stage for his performance around 30 minutes later.
He had been vocal in a news conference on Thursday night, which brought together the 10 acts from the second semi-final selected for the final, including Israel and the Netherlands.
Some 26 countries, including UK entry Olly Alexander, 33, with his track Dizzy, and Ireland’s Bambie Thug, 31, with the song Doomsday Blue, are due to battle it out for the coveted Eurovision glass trophy on Saturday.
A clip of Klein’s offering – happy-hardcore inspired Europapa – was played out in the recap clips of all 26 songs throughout the rehearsal show, but with a clip of a previous Klein rehearsal.
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The track, which is one of the most memorable of the show and was described by one critic as “so bad” it will “put you off music forever”, is among the current favourites to win.
Towards the end of the news conference, Golan was asked was asked by Polish radio outlet Newsletter whether she thought she was causing a security risk for other participants by attending the event.
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Israel performs at Eurovision semi-final
The moderator of the conference, Swedish presenter Jovan Radomir, told Golan she did not have to answer the question if she did not want to.
Klein shouted out loudly: “Why not?”
Golan responded to the question, saying: “I think we’re all here for one reason, and one reason only. And the EBU is taking all safety precautions to make this a safe and united place for everyone. And so, I think it’s safe for everyone or we wouldn’t be here.”
Her response was met with a round of applause.
Golan’s song Hurricane was reworked from a previous track called October Rain, which was thought to reference the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel.
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The Israeli entry to the competition has drawn criticism due to the war against Hamas in Gaza.
At the start of the news conference, Klein had also draped what appeared to be a Dutch flag around his head completely, sitting like that for a short while before the questions began.
Sky News has emailed Klein’s representatives for comment on his absence in the dress rehearsal.
There are more pro-Palestinian protests planned in Malmo to coincide with the Eurovision grand final, amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
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Eurovision fans on Israel
Security is high in the host city, with extra police being drafted in from neighbouring Denmark and Norway.
Over the last few months there have been demonstrations and calls for acts to boycott the show, after the EBU refused to remove Israel from the competition, insisting it had broken no broadcasting rules.
During an earlier rehearsal on Wednesday, Golan was met with boos and cries of “Free Palestine,” and an audience member appeared to have a Palestinian flag removed from them in the auditorium.
On Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called protests against Israel’s participation in Eurovision “wrong,” adding “scenes we’ve seen here [in Malmo] have been outrageous”.
Police estimated that between 10,000 and 12,000 people took part in a march on Thursday which began in Stortorget square near Malmo’s 16th-century town hall before travelling through the city for a rally in a park several miles from the Eurovision venue, the Malmo Arena.
During the march – which included families with young children, and people with dogs and bicycles – smoke canisters in the colours of the Palestinian flag were set off, with some protesters carrying signs displaying images of Gaza civilians who have been injured amid the Hamas-Israel conflict.
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There was also a banner done in the style of Eurovision with the word “genocide” on it – an accusation vigorously denied by Israel amid the war with Hamas.
Among those in the crowd was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Meanwhile Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent his support to Golan, telling her in a video message: “When they boo you, we are cheering you.”
:: Sky News will be in Malmo with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the final as it happens on Saturday.
A woman alleged to be the inspiration for the stalker character of Martha in hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer has branded the show “defamatory” and plans to sue.
Fiona Harvey said she had been “forced” to come forward after receiving online death threats from “internet sleuths”.
In the Netflix drama series inspired by the real-life experiences of comedian and writer Richard Gadd, his character Donny is stalked by a woman named Martha Scott, played by Jessica Gunning, after he serves her a free cup of tea in the pub where he works.
But in an interview with Piers Morgan posted on YouTube, Ms Harvey repeatedly denied being a stalker and described the series “a work of fiction”.
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The 58-year-old said the show has “taken over enough of my life. I find it quite obscene. I find it horrifying, misogynistic. Some of the death threats have been really terrible online, people phoning me up”.
She added: “It’s been absolutely horrendous. I wouldn’t give credence to something like that, and it’s not really my kind of drama.”
When asked if she will “categorically be taking legal action”, she replied: “Absolutely, against both him (Gadd) and Netflix.”
In the opening sequence, viewers are told in an on-screen message: “This is a true story.”
It later adds: “This programme is based on real events: however certain characters, names, incidents, locations, and dialogue have been fictionalised for dramatic purposes.”
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Both Gadd and Netflix have been approached for comment.
In her interview, Ms Harvey disputed several of the incidents and details depicted, including where the character Martha admits to intimidating Gadd’s character and receives a nine-month prison sentence.
“That is completely untrue, very, very defamatory to me, very career damaging,” she said.
“I wanted to rebut that completely on this show – I am not a stalker, I have not been to jail, I’ve not got injunctions – it is complete nonsense.”