X Factor star David Heath has become a father for the first time after he and partner Samuel Paul welcomed a son via surrogate on Sunday.
The singer rose to fame after making it to the live final of the ITV competition in 2006 as part of the boy band Eaton Road.
And taking to Instagram, the couple, who have documented their journey to parenthood with the collaborative page Scouse Dads, shared a sweet clip of the newborn in his crib.
The black and white video also revealed the little one’s name with a personalized pacifier that reads, “Jude.”
The father’s caption on the mail: “Jude Arblaster Heath.”
Big news: X Factor star David Heath (R) has become a father for the first time after he and partner Samuel Paul (L) welcomed their son via surrogate on Sunday
Celebrity: David (far left) reached the live final of the ITV competition as part of the boy band Eaton Road in 2006 (L-R) excited Heath, Daniel Morris, Anthony Hannah and James Edwards
“Our miracle came into the world on 7.23.23 weighing 7.6 lbs. You are everything and more we could have dreamed of.’
Fans and celebrity friends were quick to share their congratulations with former Hollyoaks star and new mum Jazmine Franks writing, ‘I’ve been waiting for this post!! Congratulations everyone!’.
Meanwhile, 2011 X Factor contestant Marcus Collins posted, “Congratulations guys.”
The couple announced they would become parents in January. They shared a video and wrote, “Your daddies can’t wait to finally meet you.”
They then enjoyed a lavish baby reveal party in March, where they discovered their new arrival would be a boy.
Eton Road also starred David alongside Anthony Hannah, Danny Morris and Jay Edwards.
They were mentored by Louis Walsh and lost to Ben Mills in the week 7 live sing-off prior to Leona Lewis’ eventual victory.
It comes after Lucy Spraggan said she felt like a “business problem” after being raped during her time on The X Factor.
Welcome to the world! And taking to Instagram, the couple, who have documented their journey to parenthood with the Scouse Dads collaborative page, shared a sweet clip of the newborn in his crib
Sweet: The black and white video also revealed the little ones’ name with a personalized pacifier that reads: ‘Jude’
New Addition: Father’s caption to message: “Jude Arblaster Heath”
The singer was just 20 when she was scouted to take part in the ITV series in 2012. She became an overnight sensation and her audition was viewed by millions on TV and online.
But the singer-songwriter abruptly left the show after week three when she was raped by doorman Soby Jon – who later pleaded guilty to the assault and was jailed.
When Lucy left the show, it was reported that she was ill.
In a new interview on Elizabeth Day’s podcast How to failLucy says the aftercare she received from the show’s production company, Freemantle and ITV, “drained every ounce of self-esteem I had left.”
Lucy, 31, has spoken out after chronicling her experience on the show in her new memoir, Process: Finding My Way Through.
In the book, she describes how she was sexually assaulted after fellow contestant Rylan Clark’s 25th birthday party, where staff and singers were given “free alcohol” – which eventually led to Lucy falling unconscious.
After being returned to the hotel she was staying in, having moved from another London hotel with 24-hour security, Lucy was raped by a doorman.
In her new interview with Elizabeth Day, Lucy describes the reaction of The X Factor production team in the days following the attack.
“I was a business problem,” she says. ‘We as participants were commodities from the start. In my opinion we were not treated well, we were so tired, we were drunk, we were stupid. We were checked. We haven’t seen our families.’
She burst into tears and added, “what made me sad about that was how disappointed I was. I just feel sorry for myself. I wish I could have marched in and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll take you somewhere, you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Speaking out: Lucy Spraggan has said she felt like a ‘business problem’ after being raped during her time on The X Factor
Attack: Lucy was raped after fellow contestant Rylan Clark’s 25th birthday party on the show. Rylan and Lucy imagined leaving the movie studios during their X Factor appearance in 2012
“There was, and I imagine there still is, a huge failure in the duty of care towards me, not just my physical self but also my mental self.”
‘After the X Factor 2012 live final I was not contacted by ITV, Freemantle or Syco. I was not offered ongoing mental health care, I was not offered employment. I was not offered a secondary platform to launch my little rowing boat and restart my life and career. More important is my life, because that destroyed it.’
If the question is “who failed?” it is clear to me that the people who took care of me then abandoned me.’
She explained how she feels: “I have been in prison for ten years. Every time someone said, “Are you that girl from the X Factor?” My name, my face became synonymous with The X Factor and those words became synonymous with my assault.”
“I was plucked from the greatest moment of my life in the most traumatic way. I didn’t grieve for the opportunities I missed.’