Despite all the negatives, this past year has been so lovely in that I’ve been able to spend more time with my kids, Brooke, 15, Tommy, 11, and Miley, six.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult. Miley doesn’t really want to do any work, so it can be a struggle trying to motivate her. And it’s been tough homeschooling Tommy, who was diagnosed with autism in July, as he just wants to stay in his room.
But I’m not beating myself up about it – I’m teaching them in other ways. On Thursdays, we bake cakes, and we go for walks daily, learning about what we see. I also do a “Friday Night Disco” for the kids and their school friends over Zoom every week, where we dance and play games and I sing.
I believe kids’ mental health and happiness are more important than education right now, and I think parents need to give themselves a break.
‘My daily video chats are a way to help people out of loneliness’
It’s February, it’s freezing, and we’re still in lockdown number three – so it’s no surprise that we’re all feeling low. A recent survey by Buzz Bingo found that over half of Brits say they feel lonelier now than they’ve ever felt in their life.
This absolutely breaks my heart – and combatting loneliness is a reason why I set up Bailey’s Cuppa Crew during the first lockdown.
Check out: The X Factor winners - where are they now?
The X Factor winners: Where are they now? (slider)
1 of 14Steve Brookstein, series one, 2004
Things went downhill super quickly after the high of winning the first ever series of The X Factor, and Steve's still bitter… even now, 12 years later. He's written a book about it called Getting Over The X. Come on now Steve, perhaps you should give it a read.These days he's more into childish rants on Twitter about, well, pretty much everything except making music. He did release an album in 2014, and just to show he's moved on he called it Forgotten Man. It didn't chart.
2 of 14Shayne Ward, series two, 2005
It's easy to forget Corrie's Aidan Connor is actually; Shayne Ward from The X Factor in a disguise. Alright, that should be: in a new job. It's still weird. He's shamed his role and won Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards in January 2016. Fast work.He's also been moving fast in his love life and is dating former Hollyoaks star Sophie Austin, after the couple's romance blossomed in 2016 following some Twitter flirting. Cute.
3 of 14Leona Lewis, series three, 2006
You probably won't remember Leona Lewis as she hasn't done much since. Jokes. Leona's a superstar. A superstar that loves animals. A lot.She loves dogs. She released a single with Diane Warren called We Are All (Looking For Home) in support of a dog charity. She loves cats. Well, she's starring in Cats on Broadway which is kind of the same thing. But she really loves horses. The star has featured in Horse and Hound in the past, too.
4 of 14Leon Jackson, series four, 2007
Soulful Scotsman Leon Jackson clinched the Christmas Number One in 2007 but faded fast and was dropped by the label shortly after. Nowadays his most notable achievements are his abs. He's been hard at work. They're good abs. Well done Leon.
5 of 14Alexandra Burke, series five, 2008
Alexandra Burke's winning single was a cover of Leonard Cohen's classic Hallelujah, which broke records on it's way to Number One. Hallelujah feels like a fitting introduction for the singer who's now taken the leading role of Deloris Van Cartier in Craig Revel-Horwood's new production of Sister Act in London's West End. She's still doing some shows of her own, is an ambassador for Slim Fast AND she took part in the 2017 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
6 of 14Joe McElderry, series six, 2009
In 2009 it was Joe McElderry who won The X Factor but it wasn't him who won the Christmas Number One. It was the anti-X-Factor campaign who scored the top slot with Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name Of. Chin up Joe, you've done alright. You've even sung for the Queen. He has sung in a touring version of Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat and did charity cycle rides. Good lad.
7 of 14Matt Cardle, series seven, 2010
The handsome one with the guitar, Matt Cardle is building up to releasing his fourth studio album called Higher Power. He's still looking hot, still playing gigs, and even joined YolanDa Brown on a few of her shows this year.Scandal! In 2016 there was a massive lawsuit filed against none other than Ed Sheeran, claiming Sheeran's huge hit Photographs was a carbon copy of Cardle's Amazing. It turns out it was the songwriters who filed it, and Cardle's distanced himself… it looked murky and in 2017 Ed settled the £16million lawsuit.
8 of 14Little Mix, series eight, 2011
Well, where to start with these ladies. Let's start with the music, cos that's what it's all about, right? The band are currently working on their fifth studio album and in 2018 they did their Summer Hits tour around the world.
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9 of 14Ben Haenow, series 11, 2014
We can almost do this as a tickbox list now. Christmas number one: tick. Record breaking sales figures: no tick. Duet with big name real celeb: tick (it was Kelly Clarkson). Album released: tick. Didn't make top twenty: tick. Dropped by Syco: tick.All that's left is the run in a West End show and a run at Butlins. Though he does seem delightfully loved-up with his dancer wife Jessica Jones.
10 of 14James Arthur, series nine, 2012
James Arthur has had a rocky road since winning the show - like so many of the winners – but he did seem to bring it on himself. After dropping a very dodgy tune with homophobic tones, iTunes offered refunds on his debut album and Syco dropped him.Then he released Say You Won't Let Go, Syco took him back and EVERYTHING changed. James is officially back, people.
11 of 14Sam Bailey, series 10, 2013
Bexley's Sam Bailey hit the Christmas number one slot with her winning single Skyscraper and toured with Queen Bey in the UK leg of her The Mrs Carter Show World Tour. Then, in what seems like a natural next step for The X Factor winners, she took a role in a popular West End musical. In this case it was Chicago.
12 of 14Louisa Johnson, series 12, 2015
2015's winner Louisa has had mixed success…her dreadful single charted the lowest of all the winners' singles of all of the time, only managing number 12 in the Christmas singles chart. Cripes.Her follow up Tears, with Clean Bandit, did much better by reaching number five, so it's swings and roundabouts. But we're not worried because a change of hair colour caused an Instagram storm in summer 2016 AND her two proper solo singles So Good and Best Behaviour have been bloody brilliant.
13 of 14Matt Terry, series 13, 2016
Matt Terry's the show's latest winner, going on to release Ed Sheeran-penned winner's single When Christmas Comes Around. He then teamed up with Enrique Iglesias and actual Sean Paul on the Spanglish remix of Subeme La Radio before releasing his proper debut single Sucker for You.Oh, and he made an appearance on Celebrity First Dates in support of Stand Up To Cancer.
14 of 14Rak-Su, series 14, 2017
Rak-Su beat Grace Davies in an epic final showdown on last year's X Factor. This summer the Rak-Su boys have been performing up and down the country on the festival circuit and have just released a new banger of a single called Pyro Ting.
Back in March last year, when the first lockdown began, I woke up early one morning feeling low, so I went on Facebook and started a live broadcast. A few of my followers joined, around 100 at first.
I had no make-up on and looked like cr*p, but I just sat there with a cup of coffee and chatted. Then, slowly the numbers started to build and now we’ve got around 8,000 in the group!
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I’ve done it almost every day for a year. It all started with a simple chat and a bit of human contact, but now members can post craft ideas or baking tips. For most people on there, it’s their way of getting interaction.
We even had a Christmas Day buddy system, where those on their own could join and celebrate Christmas together.
I think we underestimate the power of human interaction and what it does for our mental health. Even though we can’t hug or see our friends in person, video calls are just brilliant for keeping that up. These are incredibly tough times and we must rally together and keep our spirits high to get through it.
Join in with Sam’s Cuppa Crew on Facebook.
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