Olly Murs has said the late Caroline Flack told him a year before she took her life that some of her “happiest” times were spent working with him.
Singer and presenter Murs, 39, who found fame as a contestant on The X Factor, went on to present spin-off series The Xtra Factor for a number of years alongside presenter Flack, who died in 2020 aged 40.
Murs spoke to Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen on the Take That: This Life podcast, set up in anticipation of the group’s upcoming album, set for release on Friday.
Discussing what it was like for him and Flack to present the show, on which Barlow was a judge for several years, Murs said: “They were great years and it was good for us ’cause we did The Xtra Factor at the time, so it was a bit more relaxed.
“The way we wanted the show to be when I came in … we wanted to create that sort of TFI Friday kind of vibe.”
Speaking to Barlow he said: “When you guys (judges) used to come down you could forget all the stuff that’s going on and producers in your ears.”
In response Barlow said that they would often “look forward to it”.
Murs went on: “Me and Caroline sensed that and, bless her, when what happened in the last few years with Caz and her passing away in 2020, I actually got her to write something in my book on my tour in 2019 – the Hits Tour.
“It’s hard for me to talk about it, but she actually writes in it that the times that we had in the years that we worked together were the happiest that she had, but they were the happiest for me as well.”
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Speaking to Barlow he said: “We had such a laugh with you guys (judges), we were bantering, had fun with you, Nicole (Scherzinger).
“It was just a really good, feel-good atmosphere and I think that’s what Xtra Factor created and what me and Caroline loved and it really actually helped my career as well as I think people getting to know, not just my music, they got to know me as a person.
“It was brilliant times and X Factor was intense.”
Asked if he enjoyed The X Factor, Barlow said: “For me I always want to feel like I’m learning something and I definitely came away from that show feeling like I had learned a few bits and pieces I didn’t know before.”
Murs has also appeared on reality singing show The Voice as a judge and made a special appearance at Flackstock this year, a festival set up in honour of Flack to raise money for her favourite causes.
Take That will be touring This Life around the UK and Ireland in 2024 with Murs as a special guest.