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Rylan Clark on the vital role he played in helping X Factor’s Lucy Spraggan’s rapist get convicted

It happened back in 2012

Rylan Clark previously opened up about how he helped his friend Lucy Spraggan after she was sexually assaulted during their time on The X Factor.

TV star Rylan and singer Lucy met back in 2012 when they were both contestants on The X Factor – until Lucy quit during its live rounds, with the show saying her departure was down to “illness”.

However, in 2023, Lucy bravely revealed she was raped by a hotel porter during her time on the show. The incident happened after celebrations for Rylan’s birthday at a West End nightclub.

And it turns out Rylan – who is on Ready Steady Cook today (August 18) – played a vital role in getting the porter convicted.

Rylan Clark and Lucy Spraggan
The pair met on the X Factor (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Rylan Clark and Lucy Spraggan on X Factor

In an interview from April 2024, Rylan reflected on the “horrendous” experience. He also opened up about how he helped Lucy after she was assaulted.

That was a really, really tough time.

Admitting he was getting “emotional” he told The Guardian: “That was a really, really tough time. 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,” he went on.

How did Rylan help Lucy?

It also claimed that Lucy’s legal team believe Rylan played a vital part in them managing to secure a conviction against the porter. He was arrested and jailed for 10 years in April 2013.

Leaping into action, Rylan was dubbed Jessica Fletcher – Dame Angela Lansbury’s character in Murder, She Wrote – by Lucy, according to the This Morning star.

Rylan Clark and Lucy Spraggan
Rylan shared how he helped Lucy (Credit: SplashNews.com)

X Factor star Rylan ‘became like a crime detective’

Rylan then explained that he told TV researchers to “go and get the bosses”. And in a bid to preserve the crime scene, he made sure the hotel bedroom was not to be cleaned.

“If someone goes in that room and it’s cleaned, we’re [bleep]ed : that was my first thought. I became like a crime detective and I don’t know why that was,” he said.

Fremantle statement

A spokesperson for Fremantle, the company that produced The X Factor for ITV previously said: “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, Lucy thinks we could have done more, and 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.”

Watch Rylan on Ready Steady Cook on Sunday (August 18) at 11:30am on BBC Two. 

Read more: Rylan Clark unrecognisable with his natural ginger hair as Ruth Langsford begs him to keep it

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Joey Crutchley
Freelance Writer