A X FACTOR finalist has thrown his support behind a health and fitness festival.

Luke Friend, who finished in third place in the 10th series of the show in 2013, is supporting the inaugural Refresh Festival which be held at Wellington Country Park, between Basingstoke and Reading, later this year.

The two-day event on September 2 and 3, organised by Basingstoke-based business H-Productions, aims to inspire and motivate people into a healthier lifestyle.

Luke will be performing at the event on September 3 and his girlfriend Steph Elswood, also known as the health and fitness blogger Health Chef Steph, will be staging demonstrations at the festival on September 2. Luke, 21, got involved with the event after meeting co-founder Jay Dodds.

Luke said: “We talked about how my life has changed through eating properly and going to the gym regularly. I’ve lost a lot of weight and I feel better for it and that is down to my lifestyle changing.

“A lot of that is to do with having met Steph as it is very easy when on tour to fall in to bad habits, there is always a takeaway around the corner!

“But there is nothing more important than your health.”

Also at the event, Dame Kelly Holmes will be running a children’s sports day and the show arena will showcase activities and demonstrations such as karate and free runners to spark enthusiasm.

The event will will also feature best-selling author Clean Eating Alice, influential blogger Danielle Vanier and CBeebies’ Mr Bloom.

The initial 10,000 run of tickets for the event has now been raised to 12,500.

For more information about the festival, visit refreshfestival.co.uk.