n the end James had therapy: “I saw a cognitive therapist and a media trainer. They helped me work through the really tough times.”
His life has been tough since the age of 14 when he moved from Bahrain to Britain with mum Shirley after she split with his stepfather. Falling out with his mother, he slept rough, stole food to eat, and eventually put himself into foster care.
When he joined the X Factor the feud with his mum, 46, was still raging. It was his nan Isobelle who helped rebuild things. James’s parents – Shirley and delivery driver Neil – had split when he was two but got together for the first time in 22 years for his X Factor audition.
Isobelle died last week, leaving James devastated. “She was head of the family,” he says. “My mum went off the rails when we were younger and Nana was the rock.
“The last conversation I had with her I told her Cilla Black sent her love. Cilla is my nan’s idol, and I was on Jonathan Ross with her. So I told her that Cilla Black said ‘hello’ and I think it made her year. That was our last conversation. I think she was proud of me.”