X Factor’s Rebecca Ferguson says she ‘lived through hell’ on ITV show and ‘breaks NDA’ to slam treatment
REBECCA Ferguson has hit out at ITV’s The X Factor in sensational revelations she insists are breaking “multiple NDAs”.
The 36-year-old finished in second place on the 2010 series of The X Factor and has since released four UK top 10 albums.
However – despite being one of the standout stars of the ITV competition – Rebecca has painted a grim picture of what things were like behind the scenes.
Taking to Twitter she wrote: “I’m bound by multiple NDAs but I cannot continue to not live in my full truth, being silent is worse.
“I’ve lived through hell for years.”
Nothing’s Real But Love hitmaker Rebecca shared a series of emails she says were sent by her to ITV in 2021.
In the emails she claimed contestants on The X Factor were “forced into contracts without independent legal advice”, “mentally manipulated and abused” and “reduced to tears due to bullying”.
Rebecca also said acts were forced to sign with a particular management company and told they would be booted off of the show if they refused.
She claimed that senior figures at ITV “abused their power” over her in forcing her to sign contracts she hadn’t even read.
The mum-of-four stressed in the emails that she was just 23-years-old at the time.
ITV COO Sarah Clarke appears to have responded to Rebecca’s emails by saying they won’t be investigating her claims as the company already has duty of care measurements in place.
Rebecca is asking for an independent inquiry into ITV and The X Factor from 2004 onwards and insisted that what will be discovered is “beyond terrifying”.
In one of the emails she wrote: “Although my life has moved on and my career is still thriving, I am very concerned about the future contestants and their welfare.
“I believe that Ofcom needs to conduct an urgent inquiry to ensure the future safety of contestants and ensure adequate safeguarding measures are put in place to protect future contestants on these shows.”
A spokesperson for ITV said: “ITV is committed to having in place suitable processes to protect the mental health and welfare of programme participants.
“We have continued to evolve and strengthen our approach, and we expect all producers of commissioned programmes to have in place appropriate procedures to look after the mental health of programme participants as well as their physical safety.
“In our correspondence with Rebecca we stressed that the welfare of participants is of the highest priority at ITV as reflected in our Duty of Care Charter and the detailed guidance, introduced in 2019, we now have available for all producers, to ensure that the welfare of participants is adequately safeguarded on all our programmes.
“ITV responded to Rebecca with information provided to us by the producers, detailing their arrangements regarding welfare, aftercare, legal advice, and management, at the time of her participation.”
Rebecca’s shocking claims come hot on the heels of the recent drama at fellow ITV show This Morning.
Following the axing of presenter Phillip Schofield – after his confession of an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger male colleague, many former employees have spoken out about a “toxic” environment behind the scenes.