Steve Brookstein, who became the overall winner of X Factor this weekend, reckons Sharon Osbourne's sudden rant against him on Saturday's show helped him secure the most votes. As the talent show reached its climax on Saturday night Osbourne lashed out at the Simon Cowell championed finalist, saying he had conned everyone into thinking he was modest and laid-back and ridiculing him for comparing stunning girlfriend Eileen Hunter to a "reliable" Volvo car.
But Steve reckons Osbourne's outburst helped get him the last minute sympathy vote among the show's viewers. He told reporters: "I was surprised my personal life was being brought into it in such a big arena - but I'm no fake. It's ridiculous. How can I have fooled my family and girlfriend for all these years? They know me."
Not wishing to defeat the entire point of the show and its public vote, Louis Walsh told the Sun yesterday that the act he championed in the final - the operatic four-piece G4 - will now sign a record deal with Sony Music worth more than the deal Brookstein will get in return for winning the show.
Walsh: "The lads are overjoyed and so am I."