X Factor star Lucy Spraggan says Simon Cowell was only person to apologise 11 years after hotel porter sexual assault

A former X Factor contestant says Simon Cowell was the only person to apologise over a decade after she was sexually assaulted.

Lucy Spraggan appeared on the hit reality show back in 2012, alongside the likes of Rylan Clark, Union J, and James Arthur.

However, just a few weeks into the competition, Lucy was forced to leave abruptly, with the singer now revealing she had been raped.

During filming, the contestants had been put up at the luxury Corinthia Hotel in London, where they were under 24-hour security.

However, due to their behaviour, Lucy, who was just 20 at the time, and Rylan were moved to another hotel, where they were not given extra security.

ITV

And the night the two singers were moved, Lucy was a guest at Rylan's birthday party at a Mayfair nightclub.

Speaking to the BBC for the first time, she said she can't remember much about that night, and has only been able to get a picture through information she's received from the police and other people.

After falling unconscious Lucy was taken back to the hotel by a member of the production team.

"The hotel porter that had offered his help to get me up to bed… got a key card, let himself into my room and raped me," she told the outlet.

Recalling the police examination, Lucy said it was 'one of the worst experiences' of her life.

But despite the horrific ordeal she had just experienced, thoughts also turned to the competition and whether she wanted to continue.

Joe Maher/WireImage

"It was like, this extraordinary thing's happened," Lucy said. "The police are here, I've just had this examination. And people still asking me, 'What do you want to do? What do you want to do?' And I was like, 'I want to carry on with the show'.

"It kind of shows you what kind of world you are in, in what kind of mindset you are in, to not be able to really measure what has happened, and what you should do now."

Everything combined to take a massive toll on her mental health, and she even contemplated suicide.

She recalled: "I remember sort of having to peel myself away from jumping off the balcony. Like having to consciously do that."

Eventually, Lucy decided to quit the show, with ITV claiming at the time that she had fallen ill and was not able to continue.

A year later, Soby John was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to attacking Lucy.

But while Simon Cowell wasn't involved with the series in 2012 - he was in America for the launch of The X Factor US - Lucy recently got in touch with his people to tell them that she was writing a book.

Todd Williamson/NBC/Getty Images

And when she received a call from the music producer, she was shocked to hear him apologise.

He told her: "Lucy, before you or I say anything else, the first thing I need to tell you is that I am sorry."

Looking back at that phone call, Lucy said: "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."

Lucy has now criticised the way she was treated following her attack, demanding 'a better infrastructure'.

Responding to her account, a spokesperson for Fremantle said: "Whilst we believed throughout that we were doing our best to support Lucy, as Lucy thinks we could have done more, we must therefore recognise this. For everything Lucy has suffered, we are extremely sorry."

Lucy's book Process: Finding my way through is available for pre-order now.

If you would like specialist sexual violence support or information, you can find specialist services in your area here. You can also contact The Survivors Trust helpline team to get more information about the different types of support available.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.