[5] He was suspended several times, and had already been issued a final warning when the opportunity arose to visit a summer school organised by the Sutton Trust at Cambridge University.
[7][8] With the encouragement of his then foster parents and his MP, in 2008 he won a place at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, to read history, graduating in 2011 with an upper second.
In 2011, he quit the finals of ITV's X Factor to pursue a career in the media, and soon after obtained a place on the BBC creative access scheme[12] and began working as a broadcast journalist.
[citation needed] He is the founder of Be Inspired, an organisation working in collaboration with Southwark Council, and Care Leaver Covenant, which have the aim of connecting care-experienced young people with each other and help them achieve their aspirations.
In his mid-20s, in spite of having been told by social workers that he was an only child, he found out for the first time that he had four older half-brothers on his father's side, one of whom he has met.