Lauren Platt

Lauren Nicole Platt (born 7 October 1997) is an English former television presenter, singer and actress. After finishing in fourth place in the eleventh series of The X Factor, she presented the CBBC talent series Got What It Takes? from 2016 to 2018. Following the series, Platt appeared in various stage productions including Jack and the Beanstalk, Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty.

Early life Lauren Nicole Platt was born on 7 October 1997 in Billericay, Essex, but spent ten years living in Spain. In 2010, she auditioned for the role of Louise Mitchell on EastEnders, but lost out to Brittany Papple. In 2011, she was the runner-up of local talent contest the Essex Factor and in 2012, competed in Open Mic UK. Platt attended the Billericay School, a comprehensive school in her hometown, where she sat her GCSEs.

Career Platt auditioned for The X Factor in 2014 and became the youngest solo contestant to reach the live finals. With the eliminations of Stephanie Nala and Chloe Jasmine in week two and Lola Saunders in week four, Platt became Cheryl's last remaining act in the competition. In the quarter-final, Platt was in the bottom two with Stereo Kicks, but advanced to the semi-final after Cowell sent the result to the deadlock and Stereo Kicks were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes. However, in the semi-final, Platt was in the bottom two with Andrea Faustini and was eliminated with only her mentor voting to send Platt through to the final, finishing in fourth place. After the series finished, voting statistics revealed that Platt had received more votes than Faustini. This meant that if there was not a Final Showdown, or if Walsh or Cowell voted to send Platt through to the final and the result to deadlock, Platt would've advanced to the final and Faustini would've been eliminated.

The X Factor performances and results (2014) Stage Song Theme Result Room audition "I Know Where I've Been" Free choice Through to arena Arena audition "How Will I Know" Free choice Through to bootcamp Six-chair challenge (bootcamp) "Man in the Mirror" Free choice Through to judges' houses Judges'houses "Beneath Your Beautiful" Free choice Through to live shows Live week 1 "Happy" Number ones Safe (2nd) – 10.4% Live week 2 "Flashdance... What a Feeling" 80's night Safe (2nd) – 12.7% Live week 3 "Let It Go" Saturday night at the movies Safe (2nd) – 11.8% Live week 4 "Dark Horse" Fright night (Halloween) Safe (4th) 11.0% Live week 5 "I'll Be There" Michael Jackson vs. Queen Safe (3rd) – 13.1% Live week 6 "Smile" Big band Safe (3rd) – 13.2% Live week 7 "How Will I Know" Whitney Houston vs. Elton John Safe (3rd) 16.0% Quarter-Final "Clarity" Song chosen by Little Mix Bottom two (4th) – 17.8% "Don't You Worry Child" Song chosen by the public "I Know Where I've Been" Free choice Safe (deadlock) Semi-Final "Stay Another Day" Christmas songs Bottom two (3rd) – 20.1% "Story of My Life" Songs to get you to the final "There You'll Be" Free choice Eliminated (fourth place)

Following the conclusion of The X Factor, she toured across the UK and Ireland with a number of the contestants as part of The X Factor Live Tour. Whilst appearing on Good Morning Britain, she revealed that she was ill for a lot of her tenure on the series, as well as its accompanying tour. The illness affected her voice and inspired her to pursue other ventures, including a YouTube channel revolving around beauty, lifestyle and fashion. The YouTube channel was noticed by casting agents at CBBC, Later in 2018, Platt portrayed the role of Jack in a stage production of Jack and the Beanstalk. In 2019, she portrayed Belle in a production of Beauty and the Beast. Later that year, Platt appeared as Aurora in a production of Sleeping Beauty.