One X Factor star has claimed the ITV show’s “whole budget” was spent on One Direction in 2010 – leaving the other stars to “make do with whatever” when it came to costuming and production.
Storm Lee Gardner grabbed telly viewers’ attention on one of the show’s most iconic series, which was eventually won by Matt Cardle, with his bright pink hair and rock n’ roll attitude.
Now Storm has explained that his hair was a last-minute choice as he was left with “whatever was left” in the wardrobe department.
READ MORE:X Factor ‘survivor’ Storm Lee unrecognisable as he unveils hunky gym transformation
He also told of how show bosses critiqued his “horrible hair” amid his battle with male pattern baldness.
Storm, who brands himself a “survivor” of the ITV show, opened up exclusively to Daily Star about what really went on behind the scenes.
He said: “They want to give everyone a makeover, so they force you to spray tan. I didn’t want to spray tan. I said, ‘I’m not doing that’. Then they force you to whiten your teeth.
“They actually force you. They bring the stuff over to the house and say, ‘You’re next’, like a production line. I said, ‘I don’t want to do that’. Finally, they said, ‘You’ve got to do something with this hair, this horrible hair you’ve got’.”
Storm added: “I was suffering from male pattern baldness and going bald [at the time]. It was so embarrassing anyway, and they were saying it was horrible! So they dyed my hair a dark red. It was sh**, horrible.
“Don’t forget, they’ve got London’s premier hair stylists, the stylists to the stars! And they put me in this horrible hair colour, and at that point, I knew my days were so numbered.”
Instead, Storm decided to take his look into his own hands; inspired by Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, he dyed over the hair and transformed it into a bright red colour.
“[Producers] were horrified, but sort of loved it because they thought I was going to throw myself under the bus,” he explained.
“After one wash it started to go pink! With the make-up, they wanted to push me into a stereotype of homosexual men like Boy George. So I thought if I’m going to do make-up it has to be something like Annie Lenox or Blade Runner. Like war paint.”
It was the clothing department, however, which made Storm fully realise the “lack of care”.
He explained: “By the time they got to me they’d already spent the budget on all the boys, on One Direction. They just said, ‘You’ve got to wear whatever.’
“They had this magician’s coat, with big sleeves. It was so stupid! I said, ‘I’m not wearing that, I’m not f***ing Merlin!’ They said I had to, that’s what Simon [Cowell] had picked out for me.”
Storm refused – and again took charge of his own wardrobe.
He said: “I saw a pair of jeans and said, ‘I’ll wear those’. There was no care or concern, so I was throwing it together as best I could. You do what you can. I was doing the best I could do.”
Storm also critiqued show bosses’ “obsession with pushing a stereotype”.
“They had already researched it all from previous seasons. They kept pushing me to be more gay, and to wear make-up, and I kept saying no.
“I’d already done that before in my career and I just wanted to do something else. But they kept saying, ‘You’ve got to do it.’ They were pushing you into this version of you that’s so far away from who you are.”
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Though Storm admits he had PTSD after his X Factor experience, he’s thankfully in a much better place now – and has written his own rock opera.
The short film, called Ghost Singer: Genesis, takes his own experience on the ITV show and transforms it into something positive.
He admitted: “I’m singing now more than ever. The new film features five musical arias, and talks quite directly about my experience in X Factor.
“It’s about a young boy who’s different and who stands out and who is terrorised by Count Obscuro, whose character is loosely inspired by Mr Cowell and some other people I’ve met over the years in the business. It’s the story of how he reclaims his voice and his artistry.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
