It's been a whole decade since singer-songwriter Lucy Spraggan shot to fame on the ITV reality show The X Factor. She immediately grabbed attention and won hearts with her self-penned songs Last Night and Tea and Toast - and these days she's almost unrecognisable.
Three years ago she gave up alcohol and fell in love with exercise. The musician, who auditioned and lives in Manchester, had her last blowout with booze after splitting from her wife Georgina Gordon.
Lucy, 31, explained she didn't drink every day or physically depend on alcohol but realised it was affecting her mental health. She has documented her journey on social media while celebrating milestones with her fans. "It's important to show people that you can do it," she told us.
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Speaking of her journey, she said: "My mental health was at its lowest point at times. I feel like if I can get myself out of there and document that, the more of it you see the more you think 'I can do it.' "I feel amazing. I lift a lot of weights, I train in mixed martial arts and boxing, I run and a climb, basically everything."
She added: "I always had it in the back in the back of my mind that I would hit a point where I would change everything but I didn't know when it was going to happen or if it would. I feel that if you always believe something the likelihood of coming true is more."
Lucy is glad she made the decision to audition for the X Factor judges in Manchester back in 2012, saying the show, which aired its final series in 2018, was a northerner's shot at stardom. She said: "I've only ever wanted to do music and I guess I made that decision as a stepping stone into music.
"Northern people don't really have a way into the music industry because we're really 'my mum's not famous and I didn't go to Brit School and I didn't have a lot of money growing up and we're working class', so yeah, I went on X Factor because that's what northern people do, that's our big shot.
"And you do risking losing a bit of credibility but at the same time you get the support of other northern people and my career really has always been massively supported by northern people. So yeah I expected it and it feels good."
On Friday she marked 10 years since her X Factor audition with the release of a brand new track Everything Changes. While looking back on her past decade the reflective track features a sample of her first ever single Last Night, which she performed at her audition.
And she told us Everything Changes is an apt title for the song, which will be followed by album number seven and a book. "Ten years in any aspect of life, whether you're in a relationship or a job, it is a reflective time. It's a long time there's been a lot of growth and I feel like I've arrived at the next stage of my life."
Lucy, whose previous album Choices charted at number five in the UK last year, said about her landmark anniversary: "It feels great. It gives me assurance because when you're 10 years into a music career you're in it.
"I've been clinging on and releasing another album and another album and last year's album charted at number five and I thought 'oh right.' People started asking me about longevity and it really made me laugh because I was just kind of like 'I've just stuck it out.'"
Speaking to us from her Manchester home Lucy, who was raised in Buxton, Derbyshire, says her fans are like family. "Some of them were 12 when they would come to the shows and they're 22 now," she said. "It's a fan family and it's growing and that's what I've loved about it the whole time. I see the same people on tour and I know where some of them live."
She added: "I value my belief in myself and I think that's my strongest asset. I would encourage anybody else to try and believe in what they do as much as possible."
Lucy still keeps in touch with fellow 2012 X Factor Rylan. "Rylan texted yesterday. I did something with some hot guy on Instagram and he said how hot the guy was. And I saw Ella Henderson last year." She added: "Our year was a fine year."
Asked if she's glad she made the decision to go on the show, she told us: "I'm glad that my life is exactly where it is now because I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm glad for everything I've ever done. I'm glad for my health and I'm glad for my wellbeing and who I am no and I wouldn't be that without that. "
Asked what advice she would share with anyone else wanting to pursue a career in the music industry she said: "Just be authentically yourself and don't ever let anyone tell you you're not good enough.
"Because everybody has a different perspective and somebody's not good enough is another person's perfect. So don't listen to anyone and listen to your instinct."
Reflecting on the highlights of her career, she says playing Glastonbury was a proud moment for her. "I played Glastonbury twice. I was supposed to play a third time in the lockdown year. I'm the only X Factor contestant who has ever played Glastonbury.
"That's one, and being what we can see the only out British lesbian in nearly 20 years to have a top 10 album in the UK and I've had two, which is great because what an accolade. But it's also sad because there's a real lack of lesbian visibility in this country."
For the past two years she's been working on her memoirs which she hopes will help others. "My book is out next year. It's going to be quite a heavy-hitting book, and maybe write a musical. I would like to write something about someone. I'd love to read someone's biopic and make something about someone.
She added: "Writing my book is the the hardest thing I've ever done, it's very difficult. It's about me and how people can endure trauma. We all do actually.
"It's about what you do with that trauma moving forward. It will tell you any trauma I've faced in my life and how I got from there to here. I want to share that with people. I want other people to use their trauma to make themselves into a person they never thought they could be. The favourite part of my job is when people say I've done anything for them. The aim of the book is to make people feel less alone."
Lucy looks after herself by meditating for 10 minutes every morning, journalling and going to the gym. "A huge part of my well-being is being as functionally connected to my body as possible and that take a lot of work and routine but it's something I really enjoy and it's really good for me. "
And after taking up mixed martial arts she's looking to have a fight, for charity, with a fellow musician or actor who might be up for it. "I've just got back from mixed martial arts class. I've been doing boxing for a good few years and I'm looking to have a debut fight at some point, maybe when the album is coming out."
She added: "It would be a cool thing to do and to raise money for charity." This year the Manchester Pride favourite will be playing her first DJ set at the festival on August 28 after having lessons from Manchester DJ Yant, playing 2000s music and cheesy pop.
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