The mother of controversial X Factor hopeful Alan Turner spoke out last night in defence of her son, saying, “He’s no X Faker. He hasn’t told a single lie about me.”

Alan was branded a liar after he told the judges during his audition that he didn’t know his real mum and dad.

But now, his mum Debbie Stanfield, 45, has revealed that Alan was telling the truth because he didn’t grow up with her or his biological father. She broke down as she admitted she had placed him in foster care when he was just four years old.

Debbie wept and admitted that at the time Alan went into the foster home, she was more involved in lesbian affairs and had a drink problem.

She told The Sun, “I am ashamed of the way I have behaved over the years. And I wish I had spoken out sooner. I hope people will understand. I’ve just been so scared of what people will think of me.”

It remains to be seen whether her admissions are going to help resolve the troubles that Alan’s faced since joining the X Factor.

Tonight’s X Factor is going to be an interesting state of affairs. As I mentioned earlier, Simon will speak to Alan Turner about claims he lied about not knowing his father.

We’ve written here in the past about the sob stories used on The X Factor to get the public interested in the contestants. Many a hard luck story has propelled a contestant further in this competition that if they’d relied on singing talent alone.

What’s new here is that Simon/The X Factor team are giving Alan an opportunity to respond to the press allegations on national television. This is quite unprecedented if you ask me, and makes us wonder if this publicity counterstrike is about the right to reply, or if they recognize Alan Turner as a viable contestant who might sell records by the bucketload.

Either way, it’ll be very interesting to see how far Alan gets in the competition now.

According to what we’re hearing, Alan tells us:

It was the hardest and most upsetting week of my life following my appearance on the show. I do not understand why my Dad did it, I’m going to fight back and not let him beat me, I thought he was going to call me up and say how proud he was after seeing me on the show, but he didn’t he went to the papers.

Simon takes him aside to address the rumours, saying “I just need to know”. I wonder what the consequences would have been if he’d said the story was true.

To some degree, the scene appears to be a stage managed hit back at the press. Were they being unfair? Was Alan’s father lying to the press? Does The X Factor have a long history of pushing tales of woe about contestants?

Who should we believe?

Ultimately, Simon walks away from his conversation with Alan ‘satisfied’ that he believes him. But will it be enough to satisfy the nation, and if Alan gets through to the live rounds, how will the press coverage affect his chances?

Alan Turner 24 from Barnsley

Alan applied to the show in order to reconnect with his paternal Mum and Dad, with whom he’s had sporadic contact with throughout his life after being bought up by foster parents. Alan started singing at the age of 6 and works professionally as a singer in the pubs and clubs as well as earning extra money working in a call centre.

X Factor auditionee, Alan Turner, caused uproar last month after he was branded a liar by several national newspapers. Alan appeared in front of the judges and claimed to be a foster child who just wanted to meet up with his real parents.

He told them: “I’d just love it if they were to get in touch and to say they did want to see me.”

However, days later Alan’s dad spoke out claiming to have been in constant contact wioth his son, having seen him only days earlier.

Alan is now worried that the whole situation might have cost him his place in the X Factor’s final twelve.

He told TV’s This Morning: “This was my fault. I should never have spoken about it. My real dad went to the papers to defend himself because he didn’t want to look bad.

“As a result I ended up looking like a liar. The truth is I have only ever seen my dad twice in my life. That’s the truth.
“I said on the show I wanted to get to know my dad and I do.

“But maybe I should never have mentioned it on the show and kept it quiet.”

I am betting that X Factor auditionee is wishing that he hadn’t bothered auditioning for The X Factor now.

He was seen on last Saturdays show crying about being raised in foster care and not knowing his real family, however his Dad was quick to point out in last weekends newspapers that he was in regular contact with his son.

Alan tried to defend himself in a statement last week, but today his mum and ex-girlfriend have added their stories to the mix and it does not paint a pretty picture of the singer.

“I have been a good mum to my son. I adore him but he has hurt me beyond belief,” Alan’s mum Debbie told The People.

She claims that she saw her son just a week ago before he went on holiday with friends.

“I gave him a kiss and wished him all the best,” she explained. “Then he suddenly said, ‘I might be on the telly next Saturday and it might upset you, but don’t worry about it’.”

Alan’s ex-girlfriend Alison Jennings has also spoken out about her fury when Alan told The Mirror that he may not be the biological father of their five-year-old daughter.

“I know 100 per cent she is his – and he knows it too. I will even do a DNA test to prove it,” Alison vowed. “Alan moans about how he was supposedly let down by his mum and dad. But the only person abandoned in reality is our daughter.”

An X Factor spokesman said: “Alan claims Alison once told him the child is not his.”

X Factor contestant, Alan Turner has spoken out claiming that did not lie about his family history whilst auditioning for the X Factor.

Alan’s dad spoke out earlier in the week claiming that Alan had lied about not knowing his parents and many other facts, but Alan blamed X Factor editors:

“It wasn’t a true reflection of my life. I felt like a lot of the points were glossed over,” Alan told The Mirror. “But if they did all of it, then it would take up the whole show. There is so much more to my life.”

Turner revealed that his parents split when he was 18 months old and three years later, his mother handed him over to the same foster mother who had raised her.

He added: “When I was four my mum went out for the night and left me with a gay male friend who sexually abused me. Now I’m older I feel that could be one of the reasons she felt she was not capable of looking after me.”

Alan’s dad claims that he is in regular contact with his son and saw him only five weeks ago, a fact which Alan strongly denies.

He said: “I haven’t seen my dad since I was in my teens and that meeting lasted just a few minutes. But I have never called him dad and won’t call him dad to this day.”

Is anyone else finding this recent story about X Factor hopeful, Alan Turner more than a little confusing.

First Alan appeared on the show last Saturday, crying, speaking about his life in foster care and begging his real parents to get in touch. Then this weekend, Alan’s father spoke out and claimed that Alan has always known him and called him dad and claimed that he was brought up by his grandmother and not a foster parent.

Now in another twist Alan has spoken out today claiming that he is not a fake, yet failing to clarify who he was brought up by.

The X Factor team have released a statement saying: “Alan categorically denies that he has made up any story regarding his upbringing and refutes the claims which have been made. Alan has at no point apologised to producers and his position in the show has never been in jeopardy. Unfortunately in telling what is a very complicated story about Alan’s family life, some confusion and doubt has been raised about Alan’s relationship with his biological parents which is unfortunate.”

So who is telling the truth here? Can you decide?