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Daily Mirror

Sam Bailey: ‘I won The X Factor but only really wanted one simple thing'

X Factor crooner Sam Bailey opens up about the real reason she first auditioned for the show - and how Adolescence star Stephen Graham has helped him realise his dream Former prison officer Sam Bailey, 48, shot to fame after winning The X Factor in 2013 and since then, she's not only forged a singing career, but has also become a force to be reckoned with in musical theatre, with roles in everything from Chicago to Everybody's Talking About Jamie. But as new catches up with her after one of her powerhouse performances at the Paul Stank Charitable Trust Summer Ball, it's clear that fame hasn't gone to her head. ‌ The Leicester-based mum-of-three, who has been married to husband Craig Pearson for 22 years, is warm and down-to-earth as she stops to pose for selfies with fans. Here, Sam opens up to OK! about her son Tommy's health challenges, hanging out with Rebekah Vardy, her career goals and why she'll always be grateful to Adolescence star Stephen Graham... ‌ READ MORE: 'I found an innovative red light LED hair brush that's perfect for encouraging faster hair growth' ‌ Sam, how are you? I'm good. I'm just back from performing on a Seaborn cruise – my 24th cruise to date! I was allowed to take my 10-year-old, Miley – she was the only kid on board so she was spoiled rotten! And we're off on holiday soon to Disney, Florida, with the kids. Your son Tommy, who is autistic, was diagnosed with epilepsy in May last year. That must have been terrifying… ‌ It's been a mad time. We have to normalise it now – and educate people on what to do in certain situations. WhereverI am in the world, I have two alarms set to UK time – one at 7am and one at 7pm, so I can call Tommy and check that he's taken his meds. If he doesn't, six or seven hours later he could have a massive seizure. How are all the kids? Brooke is at uni, she's going into musical theatre, and Tommy's just finished his GCSEs. But he had a seizure three days before his maths GCSE as it can cause brain fog and we had to get an exemption for him, so that's been difficult. You have to fight for everything – but I'm a mum and that's what you do. ‌ You travel a lot – does your husband Craig miss you when you're away? It's funny, when I come home he's like, 'When are you off again?' Because I just come home and make a total mess! I'm undoing suitcases, there's washing everywhere... I might have a day to sort everything, then I'm off again. ‌ Is there anything else career-wise that you'd like to do? I'd love to go into TV acting and films. I did a musical earlier this year, Now That's What I Call A Musical, with the brilliant Nina Wadia and I think I have acting chops, so I've got to get myself an acting agent. A comedy role would be great. Or EastEnders. I auditioned for Corrie years ago, not long after The X Factor, I was terrible. But now I've done seven musicals and I think I'm pretty good. I just want to get my teeth stuck into something new. You don't rest on your laurels… ‌ Ha, no. I think the busier I am, the happier I am. I only went on The X Factor to get a new kitchen! I didn't go on for clout, or to be famous. I went on it as I wanted something. But now that I've been given that platform, I've run with it. That's where some of the people that have gone on shows like that go wrong – it's singing and that's it. The X Factor has come in for some criticism – how do you feel about that? I've travelled all over the world, and it's all because of my start on The X Factor – never bite the hand that feeds you. My experiences were only ever positive. I haven't seen Simon in a long time, I do bump into him at the odd event. ‌ You duetted with Nicole Scherzinger on the final of The X Factor – are you still in touch with her? I speak to her other half, Thom Evans, actually. I know Thom of old. I used to do a lot of events that he would go to, being a rugby player. So when I saw him on The X Factor: Celebrity, I was rooting for him – he's such a ball of fun and gorgeous to look at. I was praying he and Nicole would get together. ‌ Are you still mates with Rebekah and Jamie Vardy? Yes, I went to their kids' birthday parties! But my kids know their kids, they grew up together and they're such gorgeous children. I remember we went to this soft play centre in Leicester once when the kids were little – we went in and Jamie and Bex and the kids were there. Then in walked Stephen Graham, [his wife] Hannah and their two children! People in there were like, 'Whaaat...?!' Do you know Stephen Graham? ‌ Yeah and let me tell you, he's the reason my son wants to be an actor. And he's such a nice guy. My husband took Tommy to see Venom and said, 'Ah, Stephen Graham's in this, I didn't realise – me and your mum know him.' My son was like 'WHAT? You know Stephen Graham? I want to be an actor.' I messaged Stephen and said, 'Mate, because of you my boy wants to act.' And this is a kid that doesn't come out of his room for anything. Stephen sent him a four-minute voice note, giving him loads of advice – I played it to Tom. Then he had to learn a monologue, auditioned at a college and absolutely smashed it. He got in and he's going to acting college in September. For an autistic kid with epilepsy, that's quite something. No, as long as they're happy. The only thing I've ever said to my kids is, 'I don't care what you do, as long as you get stamps on your passport.' I know so many people that haven't left their own country. There's such a big world out there. If you can, explore it.