Lucy Spraggan wants TV stars to be awarded lifelong 'mental health pension'
![Lucy attempted suicide after being sexually assaulted while an X Factor](/upload/news/2023/08/12/85454.jpg)
Lucy Spraggan has called for TV firms to offer contestants and staff a lifelong “ mental health pension”, saying: “If they don’t then, ultimately, people die.”
Lucy, 32 – who attempted suicide after being raped while an X Factor contestant in 2012 – told how she had been heartbroken by Caroline Flack’s death, and wrote a song to keep the star’s name alive. Ex-Love Island host Caroline’s suicide in 2020 followed those of Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis – both former contestants on the ITV2 reality dating show.
Lucy, whose song Last Night became a viral chart hit even before her X Factor audition aired, says she wants ongoing access to mental health support to be an industry standard for TV contestants and staff. She said: “If the TV companies acknowledge they need to support people going forward, they also need to acknowledge they should support people from the past.
![Lucy Spraggan wants TV stars to be awarded lifelong 'mental health pension' qhidqxidquixqinv](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article30689653.ece/ALTERNATES/n310p/0_Lorraine-TV-show-London-UK-26-Jul-2023.jpg)
![Lucy Spraggan wants TV stars to be awarded lifelong 'mental health pension'](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article30689654.ece/ALTERNATES/n310p/0_JW-Marriott-Grosvenor-House-London-An-Enchanting-Transformation.jpg)
“And they need to care about producers and crew too, not just contestants.” She revealed she has had long talks with X Factor boss Simon Cowell on the topic and he is “very supportive”. Lucy said: “My song Caroline was the first one I wrote on the album. I felt really affected by how she felt at the end of her life. The middle repeats her name over and over, which is what I want the song to do, to make sure it stays in all our minds.”
Lucy told in autobiography Process how she had been assaulted while on X Factor. Her attacker got 10 years’ jail. She wants all TV firms to pay for a fund out of profits to provide mental health resources.
![Corrie's Sue Cleaver says I'm A Celebrity stint helped her to push boundaries](/upload/news/2023/02/01/6_m.jpg)
![Lucy Spraggan wants TV stars to be awarded lifelong 'mental health pension'](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article30689652.ece/ALTERNATES/n310p/0_National-Television-Awards-2019-VIP-Arrivals.jpg)
The singer, whose last album, Choices, entered the charts at No5 in 2021, added: “When I needed that support, I didn’t know where to look. It’s awkward to even be in a doctor’s surgery and have your name called. But I’ve done 11 years of work on myself. Now I just want to keep making music.”
ITV said it had “the deepest compassion” for Lucy and was commit ted to ensuring independent producers protect participants’ mental welfare. They added: “We continue to evolve duty of care processes on shows we produce.”
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