‘Fame Academy’ champ Alex Parks took part in an online chat with fans on femail.co.uk. One fan asked the openly lesbian singer if she felt a responsibility to the gay community. “Yeah, I feel responsible,” she said. “I hope lots of little girls aren’t going to cut their hair short and spiky! I think people are trying to put me in that position of leader, and I find it quite odd.”

Alex Parks tells The Glasgow Daily Record the boys at her school were devastated when she revealed she was a lesbian five years ago. “Before I came out I had loads of boyfriends,” she said. “In fact, I had more boyfriends than girlfriends. When boys hit on me at school it was a compliment. I broke a few boys hearts when I came out. One boy I was fond of was a bit gutted, but he was really supportive. He respected me for making the decision.”

MyKindaPlace.com caught up with Fame Academy winner Alex Parks for a Q&A and asked the openly lesbian singer if it was difficult coming out, and making it known to a television audience. “I came out years ago and everyone’s always been fine with it so it’s not really a big deal for me but obviously going on the show I knew it was going to be a story,” she said. “Everything I read starts off with ‘The spiky-haired Cornish lesbian singer…’”