Rylan Clark admits he has ‘trauma’ from his time on The X Factor
Rylan Clark has opened up about the traumatic journey he experienced during his time on The X Factor.
The TV and radio presenter shot to fame in 2012, when he first appeared on ITV hit The X Factor.
At the time, Rylan – who was coached by The Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger – was not taken seriously as a contestant, as was branded as a "joke act" by both the show’s producers and viewers.
Now, over 10 years after he made his TV debut, Rylan has been looking back at his time on The X Factor and has detailed some truths from behind the scenes.
In the final episode of his BBC travel series Rob And Rylan's Grand Tour, which is due to air on Sunday, Rylan confessed that he was forced to perform songs that he wasn't comfortable with.
“Every week I was thrown into the lion's den doing stuff that I didn't know,” the 35-year-old recalled.
“It's like an internal thing now, when you've been through that experience. Once you've been through that, when someone goes, ‘Go on, just do it’, it makes me go, ‘I can't, I can't just go and do it,’” he continued.
“I feel like I've worked so hard to move away from that 'f*****g idiot’ that I was perceived as, that character who couldn't sing. That can f**k someone up majorly,” he added.
In a later scene, the TV star noted that he now “hates being made to sing”.
Speaking to co-star Rob Rinder, Rylan explained: “My job on X Factor wasn't to be the singer, so I played that role. My job was to be the joke act, the one everyone would speak about and be on the front page of the paper every day.”
“If I've learned anything on this Grand Tour, it is that there's more to me than that. I'm not thick, I've got more to give than just being that idiot on the telly with the shiny teeth,” he concluded.
