Dermot O’Leary has signed a contract with ITV which will see him present the 2010 series of The X Factor.

The series will be the third that Dermot has fronted, last year he was paid £1.1 million for the privilege.

A source said: “Simon has been really impressed with the way Dermot has performed.

“He is the only man for the job in Simon’s eyes.”

Dermot told The Sun last night: “It’s the best gig on TV.”

Whilst recording an upcoming appearance on ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’, X Factor host Dermot O’Leary has reportedly been joking about John and Edward Grimes receiving death threats.

The Sun quotes O’Leary as saying: “John & Edward have received so many death threats we’ve had to close the phone lines. So please don’t call – your death threat won’t count, but you may still be charged.”

He also alleged joked about Britney Spears awful miming on last years series of the ITV show. He said: “Oasis refused to perform on The X Factor. So did Britney Spears – but we still had to pay her.”

The funniest joke of the night had to be the one about Louis Walsh though. Dermot said:

“The Phantom of the Opera is the story of a hideous, deformed man struggling to find love.

“If you want the punchline to this joke to be about Simon Cowell, dial the normal number plus 01, for Louis Walsh dial 02.”

X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary has backed Simon Cowell’s decision to save John and Edward Grimes on last week’s show.

O’Leary admitted that he was initially shocked when he heard Simon wasn’t saving Lucie Jones, but when he stopped to think he realised that Simon had made the right call.

In his News Of The World column O’Leary said:

Well, when Mr C opted to send Lucie home and thus take the show into deadlock, like most of you, my jaw was on the floor.

I couldn’t believe it. He’s been laying into them for the last five weeks and then, given a golden opportunity to get rid of them, he doesn’t take it.

Now I can see how a cynic might think Simon had his own hidden reasons for doing that, but I think his motives were above board and straightforward.

He said he didn’t believe either act could win the competition, so he went with who he and, in his opinion, the public would rather see perform again the following week, something that was backed up by the actual voting figures because Lucie received the fewest.

And no, I’m not saying that just because he’s my boss! I genuinely think in his mind he believed, and still believes, the decision he made was sound.

Louis Walsh made a lot of enemies on last week’s X Factor. Not only was he pictured giving the fingers to audience members but he also turned on the delectable Dermot O’Leary, after he dared to express some opinions on the X Factor contestants.

In his News of The World column today, Dermot has talked about the row and revealed that Louis branding him ‘just a presenter’ won’t stop him standing up to the Irish judge in the future.

“I have the utmost respect for him as a judge and a music manager, but I’ve got a job to do as well. I know I’m not a judge – I was just sticking up for Joe, as I would do for any of the acts, and asking questions. After all, that’s what I’m paid to do.

There were no hard feeling afterwards though – me and Louis had a good laugh about it. He’s a pal and I love him loads, but don’t bet against it happening again. Put the gloves on, Walsh!”

X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary has said that this year’s series is too close to call. After last week’s shock result, which saw bookies favourite Danyl Johnson end up in the bottom two acts, Dermot says there has never been a more open X Factor.

He wrote in The News Of The World: “That performance by the twins sums up what the series has been like so far. UNPREDICTABLE.”

“This is only my third series, but I don’t remember a more open X Factor. Usually, the eventual winner tends to keep their head down in the early stages and then blossoms in the second half of the competition.

“This year however, every taxi driver, on-strike postal worker, corner shop owner and waiter I speak to has a different opinion of who’s going to come out on top in 2009, and trust me that’s a lot of opinions.”

A document leaked to The Sun, has suggested that X Factor presenters have been told to back John and Edward Grimes.

In a bid to stop the hate campaign, X Factor bosses reportedly sent a memo to Holly Willoughby, Dermot O’Leary and PR staff saying it would “be great to defend John and Edward.”

A source said: “Bosses didn’t expect the twins to get such a bad reaction from the public. They want people on their side.”

The memo also told the presenters to toe the party line, on issues like judge rivalry and Louis Walsh’s predictions that his category will lose.

The source added: “Even Simon Cowell was annoyed with what Louis said. He made it sound as if he didn’t care about his acts. Producers don’t want viewers to think that.”

Dermot O’Leary has said that it is nearly impossible to predict the winner of this year’s X Factor series, at this early stage.

With the live shows about to kick off tonight, Dermot told The Sun:

“”If you look on paper the over 25s and the girls are very strong. But no-one was talking about Alexandra Burke this time last year – everyone was talking about Laura (White).

“It’s not just a singing contest – you have got to have a personality to connect to the people at home.”

Dermot is concerned for girlband Kandy Rain, who he says need to form a connection between themselves and with the public fairly quickly.

He said: “They are not like JLS who were in it from the start.

“The groups have got a chance if they stay in a few weeks and people get to know them.

“I feel sorry for Kandy Rain. They did what they did for a job and they obviously did it because they needed to earn money. It’s then difficult to go ‘Hey, you can take them round to your mum’s.’”

X Factor presenter, Dernot O’Leary has insulted Stacey Solomon, by branding her as the new Jade Goody. Dermot thinks that the British people will welcome Stacey into their hearts in the way they welcomed Jade, lets hope they don’t turn on her as viciously too.

Dermot told The Sun: “She has that same lovely oblivious quality.

“I was talking to her the other day in the studio and was saying to her try not to think about it too much, just really enjoy it.

“I told her if you think about the fact that 12million people are watching it you will go out of your mind.

“She just said ‘I don’t have any problem with that. I don’t think about a thing!’”

“There is something so adorable that it’s not fake or forced at all. That is why she is so likeable. She is a dark horse. I think she could go really far.”

X Factor presenter, Dermot O’Leary, has admitted that he was shocked when he heard about the racist term used by Anton Du Beke, and branded his choice of words ‘unacceptable.’

Dermot told The Mirror:

“I don’t want to trade low blows to Strictly but the thing about The X Factor is it does show modern Britain and a lot of positives to do with British society.”

He added: “There are two words said in the English language that anyone that has lived here for any amount of time knows are unacceptable.

“You wouldn’t even have it in you to say or think about those words. And one of those is the P-word.

“You can understand why there’s such a fuss about it.

“I agree there is no place for it in the TV industry and I was left scratching my head a bit when I heard.”

Dermot O’Leary has said that he is relieved that Channel 4 bosses have canceled Big Brother.

The channel have announced that next year’s eries will be the last and former Big Brother’s Little Brother presenter has said that the show is “exhausted.”

“I felt a bit sad, but only for ten minutes,” he told The Sun.

“You can change the personalities and characters in the house but the format of them living together and people voting to get rid of them means it can’t really change very much.”