Joe McElderry won the X Factor in 2009 and said that although he adapted to the new lifestyle relatively well, he thinks that more should be done to help contestants on reality TV shows
Joe McElderry made his name on the hit reality TV show The X Factor but is calling for such shows to help their contestants more.
The Geordie singer, 30, has admitted there needs to be “better protection” for contestants who appear on reality TV shows and insists it must come from an independent body.
Joe appeared on the 2009 series of the reality music contest and labeled it “a hell of a machine and a formula”.
Speaking to Bobby Norris and Stephen Leng on FUBAR Radio’s Access All Areas on Thursday, the singer explained how it’s no good simply offering contestants support from an in-house body with links to the show.
He said: “I’ve said for many, many years that not just on X-Factor, but on any reality TV show where you’re plucking somebody from a relatively normal life of nothing to do with showbusiness, there has to be aftercare that is not a part of the actual TV show.
“It has to be separate people that don’t have an interest in the financial benefits of that. If you have an aftercare team that works for the TV show, then their interests are the TV show, not the individual.
“I definitely think that on all forms of reality television, there needs to be better protected.”
He went on to say: “I believe that if you are given a platform by a large corporation or company, they have a responsibility to protect you. Celebrity SAS’ James Cracknell cried as he wrote a letter home to wife and kids
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Joe admitted that his experience on the show was mostly positive. He thanked his support circle. He said he had a “great family background and adjusted relatively well”.
He explained that everything had to be set up in his house so he could have creative control. The X Factor has also created stars such as One Direction
“I’ve said this in the past, I went through my own journey with the show – of kind of leaving the first management company and almost starting over again really about three years after I won the show,” he said.
“Kind of setting up everything in the house and setting up a company, so that I had that creative control.”
Since winning the show 12 years ago, he has recorded five of the 20 top albums. He was an avid fan of the competition up until it was ended after 17 years.