0:00:05 > 0:00:08My guest today knew from a very young age exactly what she wanted to
0:00:08 > 0:00:13do when she grew up. She wanted to be a singer, a recording artist.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17But how do you stand out from the rest of the wannabes?
0:00:17 > 0:00:21# I was born by the river... #
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Rebecca Ferguson auditioned for The X Factor.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26You've got three yeses - congratulations.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28It's dog eat dog.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30And I've never had to fight.
0:00:30 > 0:00:31Not like that, ever.
0:00:31 > 0:00:36# Baby girl, you're the prettiest thing my eyes have ever seen... #
0:00:36 > 0:00:38She was runner-up in the final,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40and secured herself a recording contract.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46Rebecca's debut album went double platinum,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50and her subsequent three albums were all top-ten hits.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54She has sold four million records worldwide.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55So now I want to introduce to you,
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Rebecca Ferguson, everybody, Rebecca!
0:00:57 > 0:01:00She is the most exceptional vocalist in her genre.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04As soon as she sings, we're all believing every word she says.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05She's a real star.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08But just as Rebecca's dreams of stardom were coming true,
0:01:08 > 0:01:13there was a battle with personal challenges about to begin.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Rebecca had already coped with life as a teenage mum.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18And I was like, "How am I going to tell me mum?"
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- How did you tell her?- I text her.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Now she discovered very publicly that she was pregnant again.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Twitter was going mad, people were saying that she just collapsed.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33What's more, she became the victim of fraud
0:01:33 > 0:01:36- at the hands of a family friend. - It was more than what she robbed.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38It completely messed me up.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43But Rebecca has come through her dark times
0:01:43 > 0:01:46with the help of her faith in God.
0:01:48 > 0:01:49I'm not your standard Christian.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51There is no perfect Christian.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53No, there isn't, no, I don't think there is.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Rebecca hasn't chosen an easy path.
0:01:58 > 0:01:59At the age of just 30,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03she's packed more highs and lows into her life than most of us would
0:02:03 > 0:02:06in a lifetime. What I want to find out is,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09is fame really all that it's cracked up to be?
0:02:18 > 0:02:21# And maybe I'm mad
0:02:21 > 0:02:24# And maybe I'm all cried out... #
0:02:24 > 0:02:28I had arranged to meet Rebecca in a London recording studio.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32She let me listen in as she performed the title track from her new album.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35# And, no, I never ever said I was Superwoman. #
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- Oh, what a privilege to sit and listen to you!- Thanks.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45- Oh, it's wonderful, well done, you. - Thank you.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47So, come on, Superwoman, sit down.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49- Thank you.- Take off your cape.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55- So, Superwoman.- Yeah.- What was the inspiration behind that one?
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Superwoman I wrote for single mums, really... Well, all women.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03I wanted to support people who were going through things and they feel
0:03:03 > 0:03:07alone. Who've been left by someone they thought that loved them.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11And if you make a mistake, as it were, although I don't class...
0:03:13 > 0:03:16..class any of my children as a mistake, you get on with it,
0:03:16 > 0:03:17and you look after them.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21You're sort of talking about yourself as a little girl as well.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Yes, I suppose I am, yes.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28MUSIC: Don't Leave Me This Way By the Communards
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Rebecca Caroline Ferguson was born
0:03:31 > 0:03:34in Liverpool on the 21st of July 1986.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42# Don't leave me this wa-a-ay... #
0:03:42 > 0:03:45When she was small, her parents had separated,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48so Rebecca and her brothers were brought up by their mum.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51# Oh, baby
0:03:51 > 0:03:53# Don't leave me this way... #
0:03:53 > 0:03:56You wouldn't say it was a perfect childhood.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58So we didn't have all the things that everyone else had.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00But we were always happy, regardless.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04I think with her being the only girl at the time,
0:04:04 > 0:04:05I think that she was a bit tomboyish,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08and could definitely keep up with the guys.
0:04:08 > 0:04:09# Ahhh, baby
0:04:09 > 0:04:12# My heart is full of love and desire for you... #
0:04:12 > 0:04:14You'd expect normal boys to fight,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16but she'd give just as much as she'd get.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20She was always firm, and always knew how to stand her own ground.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23That's the best way I'd be able to describe her.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26It was a bit of a crazy childhood, really, my childhood.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31- A bit chaotic?- Chaotic, there was a lot of us, there wasn't much money.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Did you have a chance to have nice holidays or any exciting things?
0:04:36 > 0:04:40I think me mum tried to make life as good as she could.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45At the same time, I didn't have the holidays that kids would have.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47I didn't...
0:04:47 > 0:04:49No, I can't say that I did.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50But we'd go to, like, the beach.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53We'd do the best that she could with what she had, yeah.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54Mm.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57So your mum, what kind of mum was she?
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Very kind,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03very loving. Very big on love, on...
0:05:03 > 0:05:06manners, on turning the other cheek.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09But me mum wasn't well all the time, so that was hard.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19I think when me mum was sick,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22I don't think you really get the help that you're supposed to get.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25As kids, we all had to kind of rally round
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and we probably done things that normal kids wouldn't do.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33So we kind of stepped up and became mature, like, at a very young age,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36because I'd say we had to.
0:05:36 > 0:05:37Because of her mum's illness,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Rebecca and her brother would sometimes be looked after
0:05:41 > 0:05:43by other family members.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46And on occasion, they were even taken into care.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51I heard that you'd been...spent some time in care homes.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53What do you remember about those times?
0:05:53 > 0:05:57It's hard to speak about this because I...
0:05:57 > 0:05:59I'm so...
0:05:59 > 0:06:03I'm so conscious of what good people do in care homes.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06But at the same time, my personal experience was not good,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08it was very negative.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Do you want to tell me what sort of things were negative?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15I remember at the time,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18me little brother used to wee the bed, like kids do,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22and I remember one of them saying, if...
0:06:23 > 0:06:27..anyone wees the bed again, you're going to have to sleep in it.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29How old were you then?
0:06:30 > 0:06:33I was probably about seven.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36In a way I felt like a lucky one, and that sounds really weird,
0:06:36 > 0:06:41but when I'd be there with the children, some of them would be,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43had been there for two years.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Whereas I was just going in for like the odd week.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50But I didn't see the compassion
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and the love that you would expect for, erm...
0:06:54 > 0:06:56..children who were lost.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01And it just says a lot about some human nature, yeah.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Rebecca also spent a lot of time with her grandparents in Sheffield.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11GOSPEL SINGING
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Faith was an important part of family life.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27When we went to Sheffield, it was like Bible bootcamp.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Because they'd go to church pretty much, like,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32three or four times a week.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35You'd be going to Bible-study classes in, like, the night,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38and you couldn't say no, because it's old-school Jamaican.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Me Nana Ferguson was an amazing woman.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43She was a...
0:07:43 > 0:07:49Jamaican woman, strong Christian, very much an independent woman.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50She took you to church?
0:07:50 > 0:07:53She did. Yeah, three times a week, or four!
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Yeah, she took me to church a lot, yeah.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00And did she sing well, have you got your voice from her?
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Oh, I feel bad, she's passed now.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05No, she wasn't the best singer, God bless.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09No, she wasn't, but she loved to sing.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11All you'd always hear every morning was,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14"That day my saviour died for me on Cavalry," that's all I know,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17I just remember hearing that belted every morning.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20And I'd be upstairs, like, "Nan!"
0:08:20 > 0:08:21Yeah.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23And your brother describes sometimes
0:08:23 > 0:08:25going to stay with your grandparents,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27your grandmother, was like a Bible bootcamp.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Oh, it was bootcamp, it really was.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34And I was like, not naughty, but we were, like, Scouse kids,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36we weren't like church kids,
0:08:36 > 0:08:42as in the kids would sit very prim with their leather-bound Bibles.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44And we were like, "What's going on over there?"
0:08:44 > 0:08:47You know, we were more loud and just kids, really.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50We hadn't been brought up in that culture where actually
0:08:50 > 0:08:55you go into church, you sit still and, you know, you do nothing.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00So I would be trying to have sing-offs with the woman next to me.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02So everyone thought they were Whitney Houston,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04so I'd be standing next to them and thinking,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06"Oh, right, let's have a sing-off, then."
0:09:06 > 0:09:10And I just remember this woman once literally just glaring at me
0:09:10 > 0:09:12as if to say, "Pipe down, little girl"!
0:09:13 > 0:09:19Did that give you the first stirrings of your Christian faith?
0:09:19 > 0:09:21No, it actually started earlier with me mum,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23because me mum's a Christian
0:09:23 > 0:09:25and she used to take me to church a lot.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28And then I kind of reconfirmed it
0:09:28 > 0:09:30when I used to go and stay with me nan.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35I had it stricter, the whip was cracked with me nan, yeah.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38# Clock strikes, upon the hour... #
0:09:38 > 0:09:40As Rebecca got older, she started to think about
0:09:40 > 0:09:42what to do with her life.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46She really only ever had one ambition.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48She'd always be singing in her room.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52And I would always think she's making too much noise,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54and go and tell her to shut up.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56She was a big Whitney Houston fan.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58So she'd be singing, I can't remember,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00probably the whole Whitney collection.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01# When the night falls... #
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Rebecca used to keep a journal when she was younger.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06And that's where a lot of her songs in later life have come from.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10She used to write down her emotions, experiences that she's been through.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13# I wanna feel the heat with somebody
0:10:13 > 0:10:17# Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody... #
0:10:17 > 0:10:18Rebecca always said she was going to be a singer.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Which was, sometimes, a bit annoying, you'd be like,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23"All right, you're 12, let's just simmer down a bit,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25"you're not going to be a singer just yet."
0:10:25 > 0:10:28So many young people, in particular, think fame is the thing,
0:10:28 > 0:10:32let's go for it. Were you fame-hungry when you were little?
0:10:32 > 0:10:34I'd say I was, if I'm honest, yeah, I was.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38I wanted to be a star, I wanted to be on stage,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42I wanted to sing, I did, if I'm honest, I did want it, yeah.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45You've been writing your own songs since you were a teenager.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Yeah, I was always writing.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49I used to write poems a lot as well.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Singing around the house, and annoying the family,
0:10:54 > 0:10:55like me Nan was me!
0:10:55 > 0:10:58- Yeah.- How old were you when you started your singing lessons?
0:10:58 > 0:11:00I think probably 11.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03And that was me that found it,
0:11:03 > 0:11:08I used to go in the Yellow Pages and call round places and try and find
0:11:08 > 0:11:09wherever I could sing.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11And then I'd kind of root me mum in, and like,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13"Come on, mum, we need to go singing."
0:11:14 > 0:11:17I was very proactive from a young age.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24In pursuit of her dreams, Rebecca tried a number of different classes.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27She used to go to a dance school called Cal's.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30I think that was dancing and singing.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37It was like a dance studio on top of the shopping centre.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39It wasn't really glamorous, but it done the job.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42And then the second one I went to
0:11:42 > 0:11:46was like a prestigious private school in Liverpool,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49but I was the odd kid out, really.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51SINGING PRACTICE
0:11:53 > 0:11:56One of the stories that still makes me laugh is that there is a bus stop
0:11:56 > 0:11:59outside the school, so Rebecca used to go to the school,
0:11:59 > 0:12:00and she'd wait at the bus stop to go home,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04whereas all these other kids would be getting picked up
0:12:04 > 0:12:05in their big flash cars.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10But I used to just save for weeks so that I could go,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12because I thought it was the best place.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15So I'd save, rock up,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17and all of them will be singing really classical,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and I have quite a soulful voice, so I never really fitted in.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24But I went anyway because I thought it was the best training ground.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27How did you find the money to pay for the lessons?
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I started working in a clothes shop,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32and I used to just... say £20 per day,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36which isn't a lot, but I used to save it up.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38And then I'd...
0:12:38 > 0:12:39pay for my lessons.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51But when she was just 17,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Rebecca's dreams of stardom were dealt a crushing blow.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Becky told me she was pregnant.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02I didn't believe it. I didn't actually know she had a boyfriend,
0:13:02 > 0:13:03actually, to be honest.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06And then eventually, obviously, the bump came up, and I was like,
0:13:06 > 0:13:07"OK, this is real."
0:13:09 > 0:13:15I think being a young mum in Liverpool carries a lot of stigmas.
0:13:15 > 0:13:16There's a lot of things to shake off with it,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19because people automatically assume that
0:13:19 > 0:13:21you're not the nicest of girls
0:13:21 > 0:13:24or you're not holding yourself correctly,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27which is ridiculous - obviously it can happen to anyone.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34So when you found you were pregnant at 17,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36that must have been a big "oops".
0:13:36 > 0:13:41It was. And it was the first time I'd ever been with a man before.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43So it was, like,
0:13:43 > 0:13:44beginner's luck, really.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47It was like, yeah,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49and then loads of things were racing in me head.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Bearing in my mind, I had a strict Christian mum and family.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56So it was like the worst thing ever.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58And I was like, "How am I going to tell me mum?"
0:13:59 > 0:14:02- How did you tell her?- I text her.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06I text her saying, "Hi, Mum, I'm having a baby."
0:14:06 > 0:14:09And she was like, the first thing she said was actually,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11"Is he going to look after you?"
0:14:11 > 0:14:13That was her first initial thing.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16It was like, he has to marry you.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17Which didn't happen.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24But, yeah, at that time my dreams felt crushed and I felt like,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27"How am I going to move on with my dreams?"
0:14:27 > 0:14:31But you didn't have to continue with the pregnancy, did you?
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Did you think about that?
0:14:33 > 0:14:35It wasn't an option for me.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41I remember a doctor speaking to me about it, and I was like,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44"It's all very well taking a pill and it being gone with,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48"but I've got to live with that for the rest of my life, I know me,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52"and I know I can't, I just wouldn't be happy, yeah."
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Rebecca gave birth to a baby girl, Lillie May.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03A year later, she had a second child, Karl, with her boyfriend.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06We were crazy. I mean, 17 and 18.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I mean, we done our best, and I think we are good parents.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11The kids are lovely.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14But now when I look back, we were just kids playing house.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Like, I didn't have a clue.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20I was struggling to throw a wash on, It was like, nappies everywhere!
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Was Karl, Dad, was he working?
0:15:23 > 0:15:26He was working, yeah, he was builder, he had a good job,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28so that wasn't too bad because I had support.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32But it was still hard, still hard.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35It's hard whatever age you are. It is, isn't it?
0:15:35 > 0:15:38She'd be picking them up from school, dropping them off at school,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40getting the dinners ready.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43And she kind of just soldiered on, troopered on.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46I think, to be honest, her dreams got parked, she left them there.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49She thought, "Now is not about me.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51"My purpose now is to be a mother."
0:15:51 > 0:15:54# Can you practise what you preach?
0:15:54 > 0:15:57# And would you turn the other cheek? #
0:15:57 > 0:16:00But Rebecca did still want a career.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03The difficulty as a young mum was in being taken seriously.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06When I was pregnant with Lillie,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10I wanted to do anything that would get me a good job, basically.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13And they said, "No, you're going on the young mothers' course."
0:16:13 > 0:16:15They would give us, like, fake dolls
0:16:15 > 0:16:16and we'd have to pretend to feed them,
0:16:16 > 0:16:18it was really, like, boring!
0:16:18 > 0:16:20This was while you were expecting Lillie?
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Whilst I was expecting Lillie.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26And then, with Karl, I trained to become a counsellor, yeah.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29And what happened to that?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Well, nothing was fulfilling me.
0:16:31 > 0:16:32It wasn't for me.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36And then after that I went to train to do law.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40And again, I qualified, I got distinctions, but it wasn't for me.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Me heart wasn't in it.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45You know me, and you know what I do.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49What Rebecca really wanted was to be a singer.
0:16:49 > 0:16:5214 singers from all over the country...
0:16:52 > 0:16:55TV talent shows offered ordinary people hope.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58So Rebecca contacted as many as possible.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00But only one will win.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Only one will become a star.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05She got invited by one of the producers of
0:17:05 > 0:17:08the P Diddy Starmaker, which was like a talent show in America.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11This is my show, Starmaker.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I've heard the stories about how her family all clubbed together to raise
0:17:14 > 0:17:16the money for her to be able to go.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19What Rebecca got when she arrived was not necessarily what she thought
0:17:19 > 0:17:20she was going to.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25A producer had seen my MySpace page
0:17:25 > 0:17:27and said, "Would you like to come over?"
0:17:28 > 0:17:32- Invited? - So it seemed quite positive.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35- Went over there...- On your own?
0:17:35 > 0:17:39On my own, and I was really naive then as well, so naive.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42And me stepmum thought she'd booked me in
0:17:42 > 0:17:44a really nice hotel in New York.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47It turns out it was in Queens,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51but this particular spot where I was was, like, the red-light district.
0:17:51 > 0:17:52# Remix to Ignition
0:17:52 > 0:17:54# Hot and fresh out the kitchen
0:17:54 > 0:17:55# Mamma rolling that body
0:17:55 > 0:17:58# Got every man in here wishing... #
0:17:58 > 0:18:03Typical Scouse girl in a skirt, heels, lashes, big hair.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06And cars pulling up and I'm thinking, "What's going on here?
0:18:06 > 0:18:08"This is really odd."
0:18:08 > 0:18:12And someone said to me, "Oh, God bless you, get home safe."
0:18:12 > 0:18:15And I was going, "Why does everybody keep telling me to get home safe?"
0:18:15 > 0:18:19And then another person, "Oh, God bless you, get home safe."
0:18:19 > 0:18:21And I was thinking, "This is scary now,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23"cos people keep telling me to get home safe."
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Then an undercover police officer stops me
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and goes, "Where are you going?"
0:18:28 > 0:18:30And I'm like, "I'm going to me hotel."
0:18:30 > 0:18:32And he goes, "Do you know where you are?"
0:18:32 > 0:18:35And I was like, "Er, no."
0:18:35 > 0:18:37And he was like, "You're in the red-light district
0:18:37 > 0:18:40"and this is, like, one of the worst areas in New York
0:18:40 > 0:18:41"you could be walking."
0:18:41 > 0:18:44And he just told me about, like, people who'd been killed.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47So he ended up having to take me home
0:18:47 > 0:18:49and I ended up stuck in me hotel
0:18:49 > 0:18:50because I couldn't go out.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55# Even if it ain't all it seems I got a pocket full of dreams
0:18:55 > 0:18:58# Baby, I'm in New Yo-o-ork
0:18:58 > 0:19:03# Concrete jungle where dreams are made
0:19:03 > 0:19:05# Oh, there's nothing you can't do... #
0:19:05 > 0:19:08When she got into the actual audition, it was kind of like,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11they were like, "Right, dance."
0:19:11 > 0:19:13And she's like, "Well, I'm a singer."
0:19:13 > 0:19:15And they were like, "OK, I know you're a singer, but dance,
0:19:15 > 0:19:16"and can you sing and dance?"
0:19:16 > 0:19:19And she was a bit like, "Well, no, I'm just a singer."
0:19:19 > 0:19:22She said the audition lasted a few minutes, and it was kind of like,
0:19:22 > 0:19:23"Right, bye, next."
0:19:30 > 0:19:32We get some incredible talent for our country,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35but really compared to what you get over there, there are so many,
0:19:35 > 0:19:39so the confidence over there is very high with the people who are good.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41So if you came along and you were a little bit shy,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43a little bit insecure,
0:19:43 > 0:19:44they would go, "Well, they're not very good,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47"they don't think they're great, so I don't think they're great."
0:19:47 > 0:19:50I've worked in the US, I've hosted shows in the US,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54and I suppose there is a difference.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56I think there is a bigger pool to fish,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59which, as challenging as that is,
0:19:59 > 0:20:00makes it more exciting.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04Over here, we allow for nerves, we allow for people to be insecure,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07because we as a nation are a bit like that, we're a bit apologetic,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09so if you're auditioning in a US show,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13I think you wouldn't have as big a chance unless you had a big ego.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15But did you get to P Diddy?
0:20:15 > 0:20:19No, didn't even get to P Diddy, I got to the producer round
0:20:19 > 0:20:22and again, he said, "You're not right, too nervous."
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Which he was right, I was.
0:20:24 > 0:20:25Oh.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30I remember sitting on a bench in New York, I remember sitting crying,
0:20:30 > 0:20:31going, "God, why?"
0:20:31 > 0:20:35Like, why me? I remember being really upset.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48I think that was kind of a crossroads for her.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53I think it was kind of like now she has to either really keep at it,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55or just give up and go.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57And she just sat there, and she thought to herself,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59"Do I really want to continue doing this?"
0:21:04 > 0:21:09But when Rebecca left New York, she received an unexpected e-mail.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11At the end of X Factor, there's always,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15"If you want to apply next year, send us your e-mail."
0:21:15 > 0:21:18So I'd sent my e-mail, and then I got...
0:21:20 > 0:21:22I got an e-mail, randomly, saying,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25"Would you like to come to an audition on Saturday?"
0:21:25 > 0:21:29So I was like, "Oh, forgot about that," nearly didn't go,
0:21:29 > 0:21:34because I had plans for the Saturday to go to...
0:21:34 > 0:21:35Ladies' Day at the Grand National.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Of course, yeah, and a good Scouse girl has got to do that.
0:21:38 > 0:21:39Yeah, you've got to go!
0:21:39 > 0:21:43In fact, Rebecca had applied to be on the X Factor twice before.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47A lot of people don't realise, you have to go through
0:21:47 > 0:21:49four or five stages before you even see a judge.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Everyone thinks, oh, that big huge queue, people are...
0:21:52 > 0:21:56No, you have to go through audition after audition after audition
0:21:56 > 0:21:59just to get the chance to get rejected on national TV,
0:21:59 > 0:22:01so that's what she went through.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04So I was like, "What am I going to do?"
0:22:04 > 0:22:08And I nearly didn't go, and then I thought, "No, I'll go,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12"and I'll take a friend with me, and the worst comes to the worst,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15"we'll go out in the night after the National, we'll have a laugh."
0:22:15 > 0:22:18So I treated it as, just go and have fun,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20if you get through, great,
0:22:20 > 0:22:22if not, just go out and forget about it.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25- So you went.- I went, yeah, I did.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27- And?- And...
0:22:28 > 0:22:33I sang for the man, the producer, and straightaway he said yes,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37and gave me like a gold ticket, like Willy Wonka's gold ticket.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40And I went, "Really?" And he went, "Yeah, you're through."
0:22:43 > 0:22:46She didn't tell none of the family that she'd been doing it,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48and it was only when she got the audition,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51like the main one in front of the judges, that she said,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53"Do you want to come down?" I was a bit like,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55"You've got through to the judges?"
0:22:55 > 0:22:57- She was like, "Yeah, yeah." - What's your name?
0:22:57 > 0:22:59- Rebecca.- Rebecca, nice to meet you.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03What was it like walking out on stage in front of those judges?
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Oh, scary, really scary, yeah.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08I was scared. And the pressure was on me.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12I brought the kids with me to my audition, which is, like,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14in one way is a good thing, but it's not,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17because I was like, "My kids cannot see me fail."
0:23:17 > 0:23:20And that was the biggest thing for me.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23"What if they see me fail?" That was hard, like.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25I remember Becky was really nervous.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28She kept on seeing people coming in and out, "Ohh", a bit rejected,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30and then you'd be a bit like, "Oh, when are we up? When are we up?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33"When are we up?" And then I remember looking at her face,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35and she was looking down at her feet and thinking,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37"Please, don't mess it up."
0:23:37 > 0:23:40In the end, when I was on stage, I just kind of...
0:23:42 > 0:23:47I didn't think of Simon or any of the judges, I thought of the words,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49and I sang,
0:23:49 > 0:23:50I just sang the truth of how I felt.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54# I was born by the river... #
0:23:54 > 0:23:56And I just remember this sort of demure...
0:23:58 > 0:24:01..girl coming on stage, quite shy.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07What I do remember about Rebecca was how unusual a tone of voice she had.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10It was like they'd plucked somebody from a completely different era.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14I think that Rebecca's voice is exceptional.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16There are not many artists that can stop you in your tracks.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I think it was just the sound of her voice that made them
0:24:19 > 0:24:21sit up and listen, rather than the performance,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25because really the performance was just a shy girl from Liverpool,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28coming along, thinking, "I'm not going to get through this."
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Can you remember the comments that the judges gave you?
0:24:30 > 0:24:34I remember the faces being very confused, more than the comments.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35I remember
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Simon looked really confused.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41I don't know if it was because he was still undecided, I don't know.
0:24:41 > 0:24:42- Louis, yes or no?- Yes.- Thank you!
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Definitely yes!
0:24:44 > 0:24:48- Thank you.- You've got three yeses, congratulations.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51When she got the yeses, it was kind of like a relief,
0:24:51 > 0:24:53but it sounds cocky saying it,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55I always knew she was going to do well.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57I heard her every day in the shower.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59So it wasn't a shock to me.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Rebecca had to move to London for the duration of the show.
0:25:06 > 0:25:07You would be in The X Factor house.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09- Yeah.- With all the other contestants.- Mm-hmm.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13That must have been a bit of a pressure cooker?
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Yeah, yeah, yeah, can be.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18We'd have the odd party, though, it was quite good.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20It was my time to be young, in a way,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22because I'd never had that youth,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26and so it would just be people drinking, having a laugh,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30dancing and parties, but I would, at the same time,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33try and take myself away as much as I could.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36The reality of such a big competition soon set in.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42I think the biggest pressure of a show like that is every single part
0:25:42 > 0:25:44of you is scrutinised.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47It would be nice if it was just your vocal ability.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49It's like a very big competition, The X Factor,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52and even if you were having a normal week,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54where you had to perform a song just in your local hall,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57and you weren't sure what that song was going to be,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59you weren't sure of the words, you didn't know how it went,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02you didn't know if it would suit you, that would be hard enough.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05But to be doing it in front of millions of people live on television,
0:26:05 > 0:26:09knowing you could make a fool of yourself, the pressure is immense.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11It is a pressure-cooker environment...
0:26:13 > 0:26:17..on a talent show, because you're getting thrown so much,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20especially as they all have to perform covers,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22songs that they may not be familiar with.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25I think there's lots of up and downs, there's lots of emotions,
0:26:25 > 0:26:29everyone's tired, so there are tempers and there are tantrums
0:26:29 > 0:26:33and there are all sorts of things. Some days you have a good week,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and sometimes, really, you just don't want to be there.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38I think a few times she thought, "I just want to quit,
0:26:38 > 0:26:39"I want to go home and see my kids,"
0:26:39 > 0:26:42because at the time it's the longest period she'd ever spent away from
0:26:42 > 0:26:45- her children, Karl and Lillie. - You can either fall by the wayside
0:26:45 > 0:26:48or do what Rebecca did, in her own quiet way.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51She managed, without being demanding,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54or getting annoyed with anyone,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58or screaming and shouting, she manages to work hard on her own,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01and just at the end of the week have everyone else go,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04"Oh, my goodness, her song's good."
0:27:04 > 0:27:09# Sweet dreams are made of this... #
0:27:09 > 0:27:13And it was that work ethic, combined with Rebecca's striking voice,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16that kept her in the competition week after week.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20# ...and the seven seas... #
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Her tone is very unique, and
0:27:22 > 0:27:26I do remember Simon Cowell mentioning that, you know,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30"She's got a very recordable voice," and that stood out for me.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35You could imagine her on a record, you can imagine her selling albums,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37that voice on the radio, and everyone spotting it.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Rebecca!
0:27:40 > 0:27:43When my name got called, Sunday, I was amazed, I was in shock.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Am I in the semifinals?!
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Me aim was to get to the top three.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51I knew top three would...
0:27:51 > 0:27:56would...give me a chance of a career, and that's all I wanted.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00I wanted a life for my family, and I knew if I get the top three,
0:28:00 > 0:28:01there's a chance.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04# So, baby, if you want me... #
0:28:04 > 0:28:07But to achieve her aim of a top-three place,
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Rebecca had to survive semifinal week.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11# Words are so easy to say... #
0:28:11 > 0:28:15So that was a big night, and you sang,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18to get your place into the final of next week, you sang Amazing Grace.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20I did, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:28:20 > 0:28:27# A-amaz-i-ing Grace
0:28:27 > 0:28:32# Ho-o-ow sweet the sound... #
0:28:32 > 0:28:36It was risky, in the sense that some people might have been like,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38"Oh, why is she singing a church song, why is she doing that?"
0:28:38 > 0:28:41But I think, for her, she felt like, "No, I'm going to do this song,
0:28:41 > 0:28:43"because it means something to me."
0:28:43 > 0:28:45But I seem to remember that it was Rebecca
0:28:45 > 0:28:47that put that song into the pot.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49We had a lot of ideas, and obviously when it gets to the semifinal,
0:28:49 > 0:28:53you get more and more worried about the song choice being correct.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56# I once
0:28:56 > 0:28:59# Was lost
0:28:59 > 0:29:02# Bu-ut now
0:29:02 > 0:29:05# I am found... #
0:29:05 > 0:29:07I think, when we all really thought about it,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10we realised that that would be very unusual,
0:29:10 > 0:29:11and it would suit her voice,
0:29:11 > 0:29:15but yet the way she was with lyrics and words, and meaning things,
0:29:15 > 0:29:17if it were something like that, which meant a lot to her,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21she would probably come across very well, with a song like that.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24# The hour
0:29:24 > 0:29:27# That I first
0:29:27 > 0:29:34# Believed... #
0:29:35 > 0:29:36Why did you choose that?
0:29:36 > 0:29:39It's one of those songs that means a lot to me anyway,
0:29:39 > 0:29:44but I remember at the time being so torn as I was singing it,
0:29:44 > 0:29:45like spiritually torn,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49because being in a show like The X Factor
0:29:49 > 0:29:52brings out the good and the bad.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55And I found myself changing throughout the show,
0:29:55 > 0:30:00because it's a competition, and it's literally, like, it's dog eat dog.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04And I'd never had to fight, not like that, ever.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07And then I'd feel like I'd let God down, it was so...
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Now I look back I was being, like, over the top, but...
0:30:12 > 0:30:15So when I sang Amazing Grace, I remember being really emotional,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18but more because it reminded me of God's grace,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22and I felt like I needed it the most at that time, yeah.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27Live from London, it's The X factor final!
0:30:27 > 0:30:32Rebecca made it to the finals, which was something of an all-star cast.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36So top three were Matt Cardle, you, and...
0:30:36 > 0:30:40- One Direction, yeah. - And One Direction, wow!
0:30:40 > 0:30:43I know. I said a prayer before I went through the doors, and I said,
0:30:43 > 0:30:45"Do you know what, God?
0:30:45 > 0:30:47"If it's meant to be that I'll win, then I'll win,
0:30:47 > 0:30:50"but if you think it will be better that I come second,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52"then I'll trust you."
0:30:52 > 0:30:55And so, I still half wanted to win!
0:30:56 > 0:30:57I go through the doors...
0:30:58 > 0:31:03The winner of the X Factor 2010 is...
0:31:05 > 0:31:06Matt!
0:31:07 > 0:31:09I have to admit,
0:31:09 > 0:31:11I was really disappointed when Rebecca didn't win.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15I felt she deserved it, because she is an incredible talent,
0:31:15 > 0:31:16she has an outstanding voice,
0:31:16 > 0:31:20and she's just such a special girl who just didn't think she'd win,
0:31:20 > 0:31:22and that's why it would have been lovely.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28For a moment, I was sad, but then I thought,
0:31:28 > 0:31:30"OK, well, that's what's meant to be,"
0:31:30 > 0:31:35and I went over and I genuinely gave Matt a hug, and it was a genuine...
0:31:35 > 0:31:37a genuine hug.
0:31:37 > 0:31:38OK, fella, come in here, congratulations.
0:31:40 > 0:31:45Ultimately, you don't always have to be the outright winner,
0:31:45 > 0:31:47or the visible winner, to win.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Give it up for this year's runner-up, Rebecca.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53People think that The X Factor is, once you win that, that's it,
0:31:53 > 0:31:56but it actually is the opportunity to then grow and become an artist,
0:31:56 > 0:31:58and to take you somewhere else.
0:31:58 > 0:31:59It's no problem being second,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02because if you think about Susan Boyle,
0:32:02 > 0:32:05she was second, Olly Murs, need I say more?
0:32:08 > 0:32:10# They watch us open-mouthed... #
0:32:10 > 0:32:12And sure enough, being the runner-up
0:32:12 > 0:32:15did kick-start Rebecca's career.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18One year on, and she released her debut album.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21# Watch what I can do... #
0:32:21 > 0:32:24I went into a shop and the album was there.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26I just remember looking at that and thinking,
0:32:26 > 0:32:27"That's me sister, that."
0:32:27 > 0:32:31# And I guess this world's not always good
0:32:31 > 0:32:34# And nothing's real but love... #
0:32:34 > 0:32:38Opportunities opened up that even established stars
0:32:38 > 0:32:39can only dream about.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42# No house, no car, no job
0:32:42 > 0:32:44# Can beat love... #
0:32:44 > 0:32:48I think a turning point for Rebecca as an artist was when she received
0:32:48 > 0:32:52the e-mail to say that Lionel Richie had specifically chosen her.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55So now I want to introduce to you the voice.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00Rebecca Ferguson, everybody, Rebecca!
0:33:00 > 0:33:02It was kind of a big deal, like, when you think of Lionel,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05he's like a megastar, huge.
0:33:05 > 0:33:06And I think, for her,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08it was kind of one of them moments when she was a bit like,
0:33:08 > 0:33:10"Has this really happened?"
0:33:10 > 0:33:15# They tell me how much you care... #
0:33:15 > 0:33:19It doesn't hurt to have these moments with other people
0:33:19 > 0:33:22who have been doing it a lot longer than you.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24I mean, Lionel Richie's been around for decades,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26so I think it's good to encourage
0:33:26 > 0:33:29younger artists to sort of collaborate
0:33:29 > 0:33:32with musicians who have that experience.
0:33:32 > 0:33:38# My endless love... #
0:33:40 > 0:33:45What was lovely with Lionel is the fact that he was so endearing
0:33:45 > 0:33:46towards Rebecca, because of her nerves,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and would take time out of his day to settle them for her.
0:33:49 > 0:33:50It was just something special.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Rebecca Ferguson, everybody!
0:34:01 > 0:34:05To promote her debut album, Rebecca flew back to America.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07# Standing in a line
0:34:09 > 0:34:12# Wonder why it don't move... #
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Whilst in New York, Rebecca performed her single,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16Nothing's Real But Love, on a show called The View.
0:34:19 > 0:34:24Rebecca Ferguson's powerhouse performances on England's X Factor
0:34:24 > 0:34:27have people comparing her to everyone from Aretha to Adele.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31# See who can be the worst
0:34:31 > 0:34:33# And watch what I can do.... #
0:34:33 > 0:34:35I remember sitting in the dressing room with Rebecca,
0:34:35 > 0:34:38as we're getting ready, and there was a knock at the door,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40and as we open the door it was none other than Whoopi Goldberg.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Now obviously Rebecca and I were gobsmacked with this,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46but there's Whoopi Goldberg, with a copy of Rebecca's album, saying,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49"Would you mind if Rebecca would please sign this for me?"
0:34:49 > 0:34:52I was just like, "What is this? Like, this is weird!"
0:34:53 > 0:34:54Like, why are you knocking on my door?
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Like, why are you here?
0:34:56 > 0:34:59But it was the excitement on her face, and I was just like,
0:34:59 > 0:35:01"You're Whoopi Goldberg!"
0:35:02 > 0:35:05# And I guess this world's not always good
0:35:05 > 0:35:09# And nothing's real but love
0:35:09 > 0:35:13# Nothing's real but love... #
0:35:13 > 0:35:15I remember driving back to the hotel,
0:35:15 > 0:35:16and as we were sitting in the back of the car,
0:35:16 > 0:35:21we're watching the single climb on iTunes, and we, as a team,
0:35:21 > 0:35:25were screaming, cos it was going from 20, to 8, to 6,
0:35:25 > 0:35:28and I remember it peaked at 4, and that,
0:35:28 > 0:35:31as a little girl from Liverpool, to watch, was something else.
0:35:33 > 0:35:34Whilst she was in New York,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37Rebecca took time out to find the park bench where,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40after her earlier failed audition,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43she had contemplated giving up on dreams of becoming a singer.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47# Holding it back for a rainy day... #
0:35:47 > 0:35:50I went back a couple of years later to that same spot, which was nice.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52You found it? Where was the bench?
0:35:52 > 0:35:56It's just before the second entrance to Central Park, yeah.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58So you were an Uptown Girl then?
0:35:58 > 0:36:00- Yeah, I was, yeah, for a bit.- Yeah.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08# I got caught up in a daze
0:36:08 > 0:36:12# Of the wine and roses
0:36:12 > 0:36:16# Such a sweet escape... #
0:36:16 > 0:36:18And at that stage does a bit of money start coming in?
0:36:18 > 0:36:20It does, a lot of money, actually.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23It was unusual to have that much money,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25and I didn't have good advice!
0:36:26 > 0:36:31I didn't have a clue about how you manage that type of money.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34It was new, but how was I to know?
0:36:34 > 0:36:39I was like a normal working-class girl done good.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42# The wicked echoes of my past
0:36:42 > 0:36:45# Have seen it all before
0:36:45 > 0:36:48# That's why I'm asking... #
0:36:48 > 0:36:50What was the first thing you treated yourself to?
0:36:50 > 0:36:53I rented a really nice apartment,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55like really nice, like swanky, for me.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58So that was a nice treat.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00So you could have the children and everything?
0:37:00 > 0:37:03It was lovely, and I got me mum there, too.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05But it took me a while to really treat myself,
0:37:05 > 0:37:09it took me a good while to, like, buy myself a pair of nice shoes.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13But then, once I got into it, I got too many shoes!
0:37:13 > 0:37:14Yeah.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24But life on the road started to take its toll.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31Rebecca had split with her boyfriend before taking part in The X Factor.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34She was a single mum of two, often a long way from home.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42During promo, you're kind of out in the morning at 5:00, 6:00,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45and you don't get back until 12:00, and that's every day, consistently,
0:37:45 > 0:37:46for, like, three months.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48You need to be a grafter,
0:37:48 > 0:37:54you need to be able to sleep on a wire and react in a second,
0:37:54 > 0:37:58and it's a really gruelling, gruelling kind of schedule.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00I think the hardest struggle, though,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02was being away from her children for so long.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12We went to a church on Fifth Avenue in New York,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15and at that point we just went and sat,
0:38:15 > 0:38:17and we didn't speak, we didn't need to speak.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19She just needed at that time to refocus,
0:38:19 > 0:38:23and almost ask for the answers that she needed.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25After that, she made some life-changing decisions.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29Rebecca split from her management company.
0:38:30 > 0:38:31It was a critical time.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Back in Liverpool, she thought she'd found support
0:38:42 > 0:38:44in a new family friend.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48And then another person came into your life - Rachel Taylor.
0:38:48 > 0:38:49Yes, mm.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53She used to come and help me mum.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Like, she'd do me mum's washing.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57She's someone that became a family friend.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00So she made sure she was indispensable to you?
0:39:00 > 0:39:01She did, and she would arrive at
0:39:01 > 0:39:04my house at seven o'clock in the morning
0:39:04 > 0:39:05and she would leave nine o'clock at night.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08- Really? - She would literally exhaust me.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10I remember,
0:39:10 > 0:39:12because she knew I liked to pray and things,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15I remember her going into the Catholic church
0:39:15 > 0:39:16and bringing me a candle
0:39:16 > 0:39:19and, like, little prayer books and things, saying,
0:39:19 > 0:39:22"I've just passed here, Rebecca."
0:39:23 > 0:39:26She played on my emotions very well.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30Convinced me that she was good.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34I remember thinking there's something not right with this woman,
0:39:34 > 0:39:38something's not adding up, why she's round at my mum's so much, why...
0:39:38 > 0:39:41People are nice, but no-one was as nice as this woman was being.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43It was a bit weird.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48She used to become close to Rebecca by using passages from the Bible
0:39:48 > 0:39:50and playing on Rebecca's faith
0:39:50 > 0:39:53to a point that Rebecca did become reliant on Rachel
0:39:53 > 0:39:55to do certain things for her in her life.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58And was she somebody who said,
0:39:58 > 0:40:01"Oh, I can help you with the financial side"?
0:40:01 > 0:40:06She said she was an accountant and her husband a solicitor
0:40:06 > 0:40:10and she convinced me to get rid of my whole team,
0:40:10 > 0:40:13she convinced me that everyone around me was...
0:40:14 > 0:40:16..not doing their job properly.
0:40:16 > 0:40:17Who did you have in the team?
0:40:17 > 0:40:21- What were their jobs?- I had accountants, solicitors, management,
0:40:21 > 0:40:23a tour manager, you name it.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26It was quite a big team and everyone...
0:40:26 > 0:40:32She helped me get rid of everyone by telling me
0:40:32 > 0:40:35things I didn't understand, like,
0:40:35 > 0:40:36"I have checked this online
0:40:36 > 0:40:38"and this is this and this isn't right, Rebecca,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41"and people haven't filed this."
0:40:41 > 0:40:43She convinced me of all these things.
0:40:46 > 0:40:51I think the hardest part for me was still trying to be a friend.
0:40:51 > 0:40:52Rachel would answer her phone calls,
0:40:52 > 0:40:54she would respond to her e-mails,
0:40:54 > 0:40:56she would answer her own front door.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59Rachel Taylor became the gatekeeper of Rebecca's life.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04But Rebecca had time to reflect when Rachel went on holiday.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08I had a gut "someone isn't right round me"
0:41:08 > 0:41:10and I was praying about it,
0:41:10 > 0:41:12"Someone isn't right, whoever isn't right,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15"God, I just pray you reveal who it is."
0:41:15 > 0:41:19She went on holiday and I started calling up companies and things,
0:41:19 > 0:41:22checking that she was doing what she was saying.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26And then when I called them, they were like,
0:41:26 > 0:41:28"We have no name on our file,
0:41:28 > 0:41:33"we don't have a contact, we've been sending you letters for weeks."
0:41:33 > 0:41:36- To her office, not to you? - She'd been taking my mail.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39Every morning, she'd come and she'd take the mail.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41I'd go... And she'd go, "No, no, no, it's fine,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43"it's all business stuff," and she'd go off with the mail.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45So I didn't know what was happening,
0:41:45 > 0:41:47I didn't have a clue what she was doing.
0:41:47 > 0:41:48How did you confront her?
0:41:51 > 0:41:55Heartbroken. I e-mailed her, more heartbroken than anything,
0:41:55 > 0:41:59it wasn't in an aggressive way, it was heartbreaking, it was like,
0:41:59 > 0:42:00"Have you done this to me?"
0:42:00 > 0:42:02Because she was so close to me.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09The X Factor star Rebecca Ferguson today tearfully told a court how
0:42:09 > 0:42:12her heart was broken by a con woman
0:42:12 > 0:42:14who won her trust, then took her money.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19In court, Rachel Taylor pleaded guilty to false representation
0:42:19 > 0:42:21after claiming she was a qualified accountant.
0:42:22 > 0:42:27She also admitted keeping thousands of pounds of Rebecca's money.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30She was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33It was about more than what she robbed, it completely messed me up.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36I would say it has taken her innocence away a bit,
0:42:36 > 0:42:38she has kind of woke up to the world
0:42:38 > 0:42:40a bit more and now she knows that
0:42:40 > 0:42:41not everyone who comes into her life
0:42:41 > 0:42:44is going to be there for the right reasons.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47I found myself missing the person I thought she was,
0:42:47 > 0:42:49which was really sad, because she used to say,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52"You know what, Rebecca? People have hurt you
0:42:52 > 0:42:56"but I want you to know that I'm good and not everyone is bad."
0:42:56 > 0:43:00I remember her having tears in her eyes as she said it, like,
0:43:00 > 0:43:01she played a good game.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06And so the lesson that I learnt was a cruel lesson, really,
0:43:06 > 0:43:11because I don't know what the lesson was, as in, do you trust no-one?
0:43:11 > 0:43:16- Yeah.- How did your faith in God bear up under that kind of strain
0:43:16 > 0:43:20and betrayal? It would be very easy to go,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23"Well, God can't exist, then, if he's let this happen."
0:43:23 > 0:43:25I feel like I get a lot of trials thrown at me
0:43:25 > 0:43:27and people read the papers about me
0:43:27 > 0:43:29and think, "God, that girl has been through a lot,
0:43:29 > 0:43:32"how does she keep getting hurt?"
0:43:32 > 0:43:36It would be very easy for me to turn my back on God, but, actually...
0:43:38 > 0:43:41..everything that I have been through has ultimately ended up,
0:43:41 > 0:43:42it sounds really weird,
0:43:42 > 0:43:46but my hard times have ended up being a blessing for someone else,
0:43:46 > 0:43:47so...
0:43:49 > 0:43:52..I don't begrudge it, I don't look back and think,
0:43:52 > 0:43:54"I wish that hadn't happened," I look back and think,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57"Actually," erm,
0:43:57 > 0:44:01"maybe I'm going to be used in a year or two or whenever and someone
0:44:01 > 0:44:02"will be going through that
0:44:02 > 0:44:05"and I will be able to speak wisdom into their life," yeah.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08That's a very generous way of looking at it
0:44:08 > 0:44:10when you went through the wringer.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12Yeah. Yeah, it's a bit too generous, maybe!
0:44:16 > 0:44:18Despite her personal troubles,
0:44:18 > 0:44:23Rebecca continued to record and promote a second album.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25# Just give it all that I've got
0:44:25 > 0:44:30# Give it all that I've go-o-ot
0:44:30 > 0:44:33# Let the healing start... #
0:44:33 > 0:44:35Early in 2014,
0:44:35 > 0:44:39she appeared on daytime TV's Loose Woman to sing her latest track.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41# I almost gave you everything
0:44:41 > 0:44:45# But you failed. #
0:44:45 > 0:44:47APPLAUSE
0:44:49 > 0:44:53But as the song came to an end, it was clear all was not well.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57She's sort of just began to bend over in slow motion,
0:44:57 > 0:44:59finished the song like an absolute pro,
0:44:59 > 0:45:04and then sort of began to crumple until she just fell on the floor.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08I was watching the show from the hotel room and I was thinking,
0:45:08 > 0:45:10"No, she's genuinely collapsed."
0:45:10 > 0:45:13I just remember taking my shoes off
0:45:13 > 0:45:16and hopping over to her and the first thing I wanted to do
0:45:16 > 0:45:19was just loosen any tight clothing, as they say.
0:45:19 > 0:45:20My mum used to be a nurse
0:45:20 > 0:45:23and I've done a million and one first-aid courses -
0:45:23 > 0:45:25loosen tight clothing, make sure she was breathing,
0:45:25 > 0:45:27make sure she was OK.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Twitter was going mad. People were saying that she had collapsed,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32that she fainted, that she had a heart attack -
0:45:32 > 0:45:33I was getting a bit worried.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36I remember watching Loose Woman and you were on there to sing
0:45:36 > 0:45:39- and you collapsed.- I did. Yeah, I collapsed on that show.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42And we all thought, "What's the matter, what's happened?"
0:45:42 > 0:45:45I felt ill before and I was like, "I'll be fine."
0:45:45 > 0:45:49Got up, sang the song and the whole song I could not...
0:45:49 > 0:45:52I shouldn't have been there, but I had to fight through it.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55I was like, "You're on live TV, get through it, get through it."
0:45:55 > 0:45:58Then at the end I just thought, "No, I've got to just...
0:45:58 > 0:46:00"dunno. I've got to hit the floor."
0:46:00 > 0:46:02And you were pregnant.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04That's why I felt so ill and dizzy...
0:46:04 > 0:46:06But did you know that?
0:46:06 > 0:46:07No, I didn't know.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10So, yeah, it turns out I was pregnant.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15The father of Arabella and you are not together -
0:46:15 > 0:46:17- you never really were, were you?- No.
0:46:21 > 0:46:22Rebecca quickly realised
0:46:22 > 0:46:25she would have to bring up her third child alone.
0:46:25 > 0:46:30It hit hard. She was due to work on her next album in LA,
0:46:30 > 0:46:33where those around her tried to lift her spirits.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37We fly out to the other side of the world.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40I remember being... We were in the middle of LA, the sun's shining,
0:46:40 > 0:46:45and it was kind of like in the hotel, in a bed, just like slumped,
0:46:45 > 0:46:49blanket up to here, curtains drawn, and I remember thinking,
0:46:49 > 0:46:51"Get up, we need to go and try and do something
0:46:51 > 0:46:54"because you can't just sit in here wallowing."
0:46:54 > 0:46:58Rebecca took a brief time-out and then she went back to the studio
0:46:58 > 0:47:01and Rebecca did what she always does - put the emotions,
0:47:01 > 0:47:03put the feelings into an album.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07There's a lot of lessons I learned through that.
0:47:07 > 0:47:08First of all, self-love -
0:47:08 > 0:47:12I needed to love myself more and not give myself away that easily,
0:47:12 > 0:47:14but as well as that...
0:47:14 > 0:47:17I've hopefully gone on to create something
0:47:17 > 0:47:21that will inspire other women and help other people.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24But first it's time for some music, and performing her brilliant track,
0:47:24 > 0:47:25Bones, it's Rebecca Ferguson.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28APPLAUSE
0:47:29 > 0:47:34# I wish that you could see who I really am
0:47:34 > 0:47:40# It's tough being a woman in love with an unkind man... #
0:47:40 > 0:47:42All the trouble she has been through,
0:47:42 > 0:47:47there's been a lot of tests and different personal problems,
0:47:47 > 0:47:49but she always believes that everything happens for a reason,
0:47:49 > 0:47:53so whether it's bad or good, if it's good, then so be it,
0:47:53 > 0:47:55but if it's bad you need to take that and you need to learn from it.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57# Have you even got a clue
0:47:57 > 0:48:00# What I gave up just to be here?
0:48:00 > 0:48:03# To serve you with your steak and beer
0:48:03 > 0:48:07- # Baby, that's for love - Baby, that's for love
0:48:07 > 0:48:08# Baby, that's for love... #
0:48:08 > 0:48:10CHEERING
0:48:10 > 0:48:13# All I've ever wanted was for your loving arms
0:48:13 > 0:48:15# To wrap themselves around me and say... #
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Rebecca put her experience and emotions
0:48:18 > 0:48:21into the writing of the new album.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23# Come and lay your bones down with me
0:48:23 > 0:48:26# Come and lay your bones down with me... #
0:48:28 > 0:48:30We've prayed about this last album we did,
0:48:30 > 0:48:33that it will have a positive impact on people and...
0:48:35 > 0:48:41..I think, as Christians, God is in everything we do.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43# I'm not trying to play the victim
0:48:43 > 0:48:46# Don't want to go head-to-head
0:48:46 > 0:48:50# But, boy, I shouldn't have to stand in the mirror
0:48:50 > 0:48:51# Convincing myself I'm fair... #
0:48:51 > 0:48:55It's quite a shameful thing, I felt...
0:48:55 > 0:48:59To have to go into the ins and outs of a relationship,
0:48:59 > 0:49:01"What was it, how long were you together?"
0:49:01 > 0:49:04All this is really uncomfortable,
0:49:04 > 0:49:08but I've spoke about it because I want people to be challenged,
0:49:08 > 0:49:12because I feel like it's so painful carrying a baby alone,
0:49:12 > 0:49:15I kept on thinking,
0:49:15 > 0:49:17"Women are going through this, who's speaking about it?"
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Because no-one is speaking about it.
0:49:19 > 0:49:26So I wanted to be... I've kind of spoke about it openly in the press.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Would you like to have a long-standing stable relationship
0:49:29 > 0:49:32in your life or are you now so independent,
0:49:32 > 0:49:34you've climbed so many hurdles?
0:49:34 > 0:49:38I think I am independent, I can survive without a man,
0:49:38 > 0:49:41but I'm tired of having to be the strong one.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44It would be so nice to just say, "You know what? Over to you."
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Because I feel like as a single mum
0:49:48 > 0:49:51and a working mum in a tough industry
0:49:51 > 0:49:55you need someone that is putting their arms round you,
0:49:55 > 0:49:59because I find myself having to be tougher than I am
0:49:59 > 0:50:02and it would be so lovely to not have to do that
0:50:02 > 0:50:05and just have someone else fight my battles, yeah.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08# You're the prettiest thing my eyes have ever known
0:50:08 > 0:50:12# Come and lay your bones down with me
0:50:12 > 0:50:15# Come and lay your bones down... #
0:50:15 > 0:50:18What are your thoughts on fame?
0:50:18 > 0:50:21Everybody wants a touch of fame, a taste of fame,
0:50:21 > 0:50:25you've had more of that than a lot of people -
0:50:25 > 0:50:27is it all it's cracked up to be?
0:50:27 > 0:50:30You can't get lost in it. It's a fickle industry.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35It can eat you up and chew you and spit you right back out.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38So I try and stay as grounded as I can.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43It's not what life is about, but it's quite nice.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46It's all right to go to an event and have a glass of champagne
0:50:46 > 0:50:48and it's quite nice people being lovely to me,
0:50:48 > 0:50:54but I don't forget that I've got to go home, change nappies...
0:50:56 > 0:50:58- ..and be real, yeah. - So your children,
0:50:58 > 0:51:02do you ever tell them what your life was like when you were their age?
0:51:02 > 0:51:04I do, I'm very honest with them.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07I go, "You have no idea how lucky you are."
0:51:07 > 0:51:09I'm trying to teach them to be good people.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11I don't know if they will be, but I'm doing my best.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13Do you take them to church?
0:51:13 > 0:51:15I'm conscious that it's their personal journey.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19I wasn't taught that, it was like, "You will go to church,"
0:51:19 > 0:51:22you know what I mean? Whereas I'll just say, "Would you like to pray?"
0:51:22 > 0:51:24"We're going to say prayers."
0:51:24 > 0:51:26Then when we go into church,
0:51:26 > 0:51:30I tend to go less to services and more an empty church,
0:51:30 > 0:51:34I don't know why. I find I'm closer to God that way,
0:51:34 > 0:51:36because I always feel like judgment, I don't know why,
0:51:36 > 0:51:38I feel like people might criticise me
0:51:38 > 0:51:42because I'm not your standard Christian, like, I'm not perfect,
0:51:42 > 0:51:45I'm so backslidden, as people would say.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48There is no perfect Christian, that's the thing.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50There isn't, no. I don't think there is.
0:51:58 > 0:52:03Earlier this year, Rebecca turned 30 and celebrated with a trip to Paris.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07All Rebecca kept saying was how much she loved Paris -
0:52:07 > 0:52:11it's got the clothes that she loves, the relaxed life,
0:52:11 > 0:52:14the love of the city, and it was such a great weekend.
0:52:17 > 0:52:18Around two days after getting back,
0:52:18 > 0:52:21I remember receiving a phone call from Rebecca to say,
0:52:21 > 0:52:23"I've found an apartment that I'm going to view."
0:52:23 > 0:52:26So, "Well, where?" She said, "In Paris."
0:52:27 > 0:52:31France, Paris - the best way I can describe it is bonkers.
0:52:31 > 0:52:32It's the only way I can describe it.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34She said it and I was a bit like...
0:52:34 > 0:52:37"Why?" She was like...
0:52:37 > 0:52:40"Eh, just feels right." And that was it, six weeks later she was moved.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Why did you choose Paris?
0:52:45 > 0:52:48It's so peaceful and it's just romantic,
0:52:48 > 0:52:52it's everything, it's beautiful, yeah,
0:52:52 > 0:52:55- I just fell in love with it. - How long have you been there?
0:52:55 > 0:52:58Six months, almost six months now, yeah.
0:52:58 > 0:52:59And the children are in French schools?
0:52:59 > 0:53:01The kids are due to start in January.
0:53:01 > 0:53:03Are they learning the language?
0:53:03 > 0:53:06They are, yeah. They're starting to learn, which is good,
0:53:06 > 0:53:08it would be nice to have bilingual kids, so it's good.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11- And you too? - Yeah, I'm learning bits.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15I can get milk, bread, croissants, cheese and wine,
0:53:15 > 0:53:16which is all a girl needs.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22She can go there and she knows when she's in France it's no work.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24That's genuine time off.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28One thing that Rebecca is, as she would say herself,
0:53:28 > 0:53:30is a hopeless romantic,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33so that city is the perfect place for any kind of hopeless romantic.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36So what do you hope this new chapter will bring you?
0:53:37 > 0:53:38I really want to be happy.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41I would love to have peace.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43I feel like those years up to 30
0:53:43 > 0:53:45were hopefully the worst years of my life.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48It was a bit like, give the girl a break,
0:53:48 > 0:53:54so I'm hoping these are now my years of rest where I can enjoy my life,
0:53:54 > 0:53:57- yeah.- What do you see in the future?
0:53:59 > 0:54:01I'd love to settle down.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05I'd love to get married, I'd love to have more kids -
0:54:05 > 0:54:06when I'm settled down, though.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12I'd like to go back to America, I'd like to tour there again.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16I've got charity ambitions that I want to do in the future as well.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20I don't know, I've got loads of things that I'd love to do.
0:54:20 > 0:54:21# But I can't
0:54:22 > 0:54:24# Go along with it... #
0:54:24 > 0:54:27I think the fact that she's four albums in and still selling albums
0:54:27 > 0:54:32and still competing with some of the biggest artists in the world
0:54:32 > 0:54:33shows that she's got longevity.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35# But fool as I am
0:54:35 > 0:54:38# I won't go along with it... #
0:54:38 > 0:54:41She has been knocked so many times in life
0:54:41 > 0:54:46and in music and in business and with relationships
0:54:46 > 0:54:51and she's just got up every time, got back up on her feet.
0:54:51 > 0:54:57She's so resilient, she's so persistent.
0:54:57 > 0:55:01Hopefully she'll look back on album number four and say,
0:55:01 > 0:55:03"Oh, that was just the beginning."
0:55:03 > 0:55:05# And I don't mean to cry
0:55:05 > 0:55:07# It's just the smoke gets in my eyes
0:55:07 > 0:55:09# You're breathing
0:55:09 > 0:55:10# Lies I want to believe in... #
0:55:10 > 0:55:15You go through every tear in every word of every song with her.
0:55:15 > 0:55:20You feel her pain, you feel her happiness, you feel the melancholy.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22I think she's just an old soul
0:55:22 > 0:55:25and I think the way that she performs is so elegant,
0:55:25 > 0:55:28it's almost brutally honest, it's quite visceral.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30She is, without doubt,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33the most exceptional vocalist in her genre at the moment.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35# But I can't
0:55:35 > 0:55:38# Go along with it... #
0:55:38 > 0:55:40Somehow Rebecca's life experiences,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43whether it's her faith or her upbringing
0:55:43 > 0:55:45or her love for her children,
0:55:45 > 0:55:49all those things just come flooding out as soon as she sings a song that
0:55:49 > 0:55:53is emotional and suddenly we're all believing every word she says,
0:55:53 > 0:55:56and that's a really powerful thing that very few artists have,
0:55:56 > 0:55:58and the real stars have it and she is a real star.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00# I want to find the missing pieces
0:56:00 > 0:56:02# Of the whole love I lost
0:56:02 > 0:56:05# You say it like you mean it... #
0:56:05 > 0:56:08What will you be doing this Christmas?
0:56:08 > 0:56:09I'm spending it with me mum.
0:56:09 > 0:56:14Me and Karl do a roll-on, roll-off of Christmases,
0:56:14 > 0:56:16so one Christmas he'll have the kids and the next...
0:56:16 > 0:56:19It's hard, but I think it's fair.
0:56:19 > 0:56:24So me and me mum, I'm going to treat her to a nice hotel and a nice meal
0:56:24 > 0:56:28and I'm just going to make it all about me mum this year.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30What is the best present you could wish for?
0:56:30 > 0:56:31Something just for you?
0:56:32 > 0:56:35Love would be nice. To meet someone lovely,
0:56:35 > 0:56:38that would be the most perfect Christmas present for me at the minute.
0:56:38 > 0:56:42- I'll tick that, I'll put that on your list.- Yeah, Santa!- Yes.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44I've got a Christmas present for you.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46Oh, I feel bad now.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49- I haven't got one. - Oh, well, never mind.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52This is for you from me and I hope...
0:56:52 > 0:56:54You can open up, it's all right...
0:56:54 > 0:56:57- Yes. Have a look. - Thank you.
0:56:57 > 0:56:58Oh, lovely.
0:56:59 > 0:57:04Easy Learning French Pronunciation, love it.
0:57:04 > 0:57:05And...
0:57:06 > 0:57:09French - Learn In Just 12 Weeks.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11Well, this will benefit me a lot.
0:57:11 > 0:57:12I'll need it, yeah, thank you.
0:57:12 > 0:57:16It will get you beyond the cheese and wine and a loaf of bread.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19It will. Yes, a girl does need more than that in France.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21Rebecca, it's been lovely talking to you.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24- Happy Christmas, and here's to love. - And you.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26Here's to love, hopefully, yeah.
0:57:35 > 0:57:40Wow. What an amazing woman she is. At the beginning,
0:57:40 > 0:57:44I was asking whether fame was all it is cracked up to be for her.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48Well, I think it has been good for her, but it hasn't changed her,
0:57:48 > 0:57:49it has kept her balanced,
0:57:49 > 0:57:53because she has three gorgeous children and a real life,
0:57:53 > 0:57:56which is marvellous, and also her faith in God
0:57:56 > 0:57:58definitely shone through.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00She's got her feet on the ground
0:58:00 > 0:58:02and I hope she gets her present of true love -
0:58:02 > 0:58:05that would be nice, wouldn't it? Happy Christmas.