Olly Alexander reveals heartbreaking bullying experience and reason for not telling his mother

For a long time now, Olly Alexander has been a figure of interest for many of us.

At the age of 33, his exceptional musical and acting talents have brought him into the limelight. His forthcoming Eurovision performance is just another feather in his cap, further enriching his spectacular career.

Olly has gained recognition not only for his musical work with Years and Years, but also for his remarkable representation of Ritchie Tozer in Channel 4's suspenseful drama It's A Sin. Given his exceptional performance at the BRITs, it seems that his fame is set to soar even higher.

However, despite the millions of admirers Olly now counts around the world, life hasn't always been easy for him.

Olly was born in North Yorkshire and faced a challenging time at school due to bullying because he 'looked like a girl'. In a conversation with GQ, Olly shared how the bullying forged him into the person he is now by fueling his determination to silence the detractors.

'I recall having long hair while in primary school and getting labeled a girl,', he admitted.

'I knew that this was seen as a negative thing for boys. I didn't have the same interests as other boys: I wanted to mingle with the girls and watch films. Which is something that straight boys engage with as well.'

Despite dealing with internal conflicts at school, courageously, Olly chose not to disclose them to his mother Vicki. She remained unaware of the trials her son was experiencing.

'I've never shared these things with her. It's peculiar - my mother got to know about my awful school experiences when she read an interview I gave, and she was astonished. I was taken aback by the fact that she was not aware. I suppose I've been good at concealing it.'

Fortunately, Olly has overcome these difficulties, using his experiences as motivation to prove his bullies wrong.

Olly is also eagerly preparing to represent the United Kingdom in this year's Eurovision song contest, happening on Saturday, 11th May. His track Dizzy has already gained attention from the home viewers.

Talking about his performance at the first semi-final, Olly shared with Lorraine Kelly: 'The entire Eurovision experience is insane. Last night was terrific. It was my first time performing in the arena and on stage.'

Surprisingly, he also revealed: 'We had a minor wardrobe mishap and had to think on our feet, but that's alright - it's a live TV show.'

The Eurovision Song Contest Final will be broadcast on Saturday, May 11 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer