Raped X Factor star Lucy Spraggan breaks down as she tells how Simon Cowell comforted her afterwards

X Factor star Lucy Spraggan broke down in tears as she revealed today how Simon Cowell had apologised after he learned she had been raped by a hotel porter during her time on the talent show.   

Spraggan was just 20 when she was scouted to take part in the ITV series in 2012. She became an overnight sensation, with her audition watched by millions on TV and online. 

But the singer-songwriter left the show abruptly after week three when she was raped by a porter in a hotel room. At the time it was reported she was ill. 

In a harrowing interview discussing her brutal attack, Spraggan, now 31, wept as she revealed how Cowell was left heartbroken by the news of her rape. She says the X Factor judge told her: ‘Lucy, before you or I say anything else, the first thing I need to tell you is that I am sorry.’

‘It makes me emotional because no-one else said sorry. And all it took was this one man to treat me like a human being, 11 years later,’ Spraggan told the BBC about the 63-year-old music mogul’s response.

Simon Cowell said he is still in touch with Spraggan, who he described as ‘one of the most authentic, talented and brave people I have ever met’. He also apologised after hearing about her trauma while taking part in the 2012 show 

Spraggan was scouted for the show at 20 and made it through the first three live shows before quitting abruptly. She is pictured during her audition in 2012

It comes as the music star revealed more details about the immense pressure of being on the talent show – which she said felt like being in an ‘abusive relationship’.  

Describing how taking part in the X Factor dominated her life, she said she had never experienced a situation where ‘somebody completely takes the reins of my life’.

‘If I had experienced that again, as a normal human being, I would have said that I would have been in an abusive relationship,’ Spraggan added. 

Having previously been a gigging artist, the X Factor was her big break and she became the first contestant to play an instrument and sing her own song Last Night in her audition.

She admitted her ‘life changed forever’ after the stunning success of her audition, which became the world’s fourth-most watched video that year. 

But she admitted the early days of the show were a struggle. ‘From the beginning, they kind of make you into a caricature of yourself. It’s almost like there’s a storyline written for you,’ she added in her first broadcast interview since she revealed she had been raped. 

Spraggan was speaking out after detailing her experience on the show in her new memoir, Process: Finding My Way Through. 

In the book, she describes how she was sexually assaulted after fellow contestant Rylan Clark’s 25th birthday party, where staff and singers were given ‘free alcohol’ – ultimately leading to Spraggan, now 31, falling unconscious.   

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Lucy Spraggan bravely spoke out about her sexual assault ordeal on the X Factor 

Rylan Clark (left) made sure Spraggan’s hotel door locked as he left, meaning her attacker was traced by the keycard he used to enter

The singer-songwriter left the show abruptly after week three when she was raped by a porter in a hotel room. At the time it was reported she was ill. She is pictured in April 2023

The brutal attack left her unable to continue the show due to strong side effects of Pep medication – a drug given to her by doctors which can prevent someone contracting HIV.

She told the Guardian how a member of the production team escorted the singer back to the hotel from the Mayfair Mahiki nightclub where a hotel porter offered to help return Spraggan safely to her room.

But as the staff member left her room, the porter is said to have manually prevented the room from locking automatically. 

She and Clark had allegedly been sent to the hotel in Edgware Road, away from the Corinthia where the show usually housed its performers, with 24-hour security.

Spraggan described how she believed this was part of their ‘storyline’ for the show, in which they were known for partying and staying out late.

Some time later, Clark arrived back at the hotel and checked in on his fellow contestant – crucially then ensuring her door was locked before he left her asleep. 

This meant that the porter then had to use a traceable keycard in order to get into the room and commit the rape, she explained.

The next day, Spraggan woke up and instantly knew something was wrong.

She told the Guardian: ‘I woke up the next day with this sense of sheer dread.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt that level of confusion since. I knew that I’d been raped, but I could not process that. So I put my clothes on and went into autopilot.’ 

Rylan and Lucy pictured leaving filming studios during their 2012 stint on the X Factor

Spraggan described how she woke up and felt a ‘sense of dread’. Speaking to the BBC, she opened up about the trauma of her attack in 2012 

After telling Clark, who she describes as a fierce advocate for her, production staff were informed and police were called. 

She was prescribed Pep which, if taken within the first 72 hours of having sex, can stop the spread of HIV – but it left her feeling too ill to continue singing in the show.

Spraggan said she had wanted to come clean about why she suddenly quit the X Factor, but claims various people encouraged her not to.

Now she is frustrated at the lack of aftercare she received upon leaving the competition, as although she reportedly received medical and financial support in the immediate aftermath, she says she had no support after trial. 

She writes: ‘No one ever contacted me to ask if I was OK. No one called or emailed when the trial was over and he was convicted. No one offered me rehabilitation or ongoing mental health treatment. I was on my own.’

The man behind the attack pleaded guilty at trial and was sentenced to ten years in prison, meaning the singer did not have to relive the trauma of the rape in the witness box. 

But she maintains she was ‘lucky’ her rapist was brought to justice – because her friend looked out for her.

‘I’m lucky because Rylan shut that door.’ 

Simon Cowell boss of The X Factor, told the Guardian that what happened to Spraggan was ‘horrific and heartbreaking’.

He continued: ‘Although we met under tragic circumstances, a genuine friendship and a mutual respect has developed between us. Lucy is one of the most authentic, talented and brave people I have ever met. 

‘I have always supported her wish to tell her story as well as her efforts to bring about positive change.’

Now she is frustrated at the lack of aftercare she received upon leaving the competition, as although she reportedly received medical and financial support in the immediate aftermath, she says she had no support after trial

A spokesperson for ITV said: ‘We have the deepest compassion for Lucy and everything she has endured as a result of this horrific ordeal. We commend her resilience and bravery.

‘The X Factor was produced by Thames and Syco, who were primarily responsible for duty of care towards all of its programme contributors. 

‘ITV as a commissioning broadcaster is committed to having in place suitable and robust oversight procedures, with a view to ensuring that independent producers employ the correct processes to protect the mental health and welfare of participants.

‘We continue to evolve our own duty of care processes on programmes we produce to ensure that there are appropriate measures in place to support contributors before, during and after filming. In an event of such a distressing nature, welfare and support towards the victim would always be of the utmost priority.’

A spokesperson for the production company behind the show, Fremantle, added: ‘The serious sexual assault suffered by Lucy Spraggan in October 2012 was a truly horrific criminal act for which the perpetrator, who was not connected with the programme, was rightfully prosecuted and imprisoned. 

‘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.’

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse is available from Rape Crisis on 0808 500 2222.