Andrew Lloyd Webber has blasted Simon Cowell and his stream of reality TV shows saying that they torture contestants and use tricks to make favourites look good.

Lloyd Webber’s own show ‘Your Country Needs You’ kicks off tomorrow night, and he revealed to The Sun: “The mantra of the show is that we nurture, we don’t torture.”

“All my acts call me Andrew, and they all call my mobile when they need help. There will be no tricks on this show. Over my dead body.!

Andrew also gets a dig in at the renowned X Factor sob stories and big tales by insisting that ‘Your Country Needs You’ would not use gimmicks and that the contestants were chosen for their singing abilities and nothing else.

He added: “We have a live band and we have performers who will deliver live to the best of their ability. We don’t have off-stage backing singers who come in and maybe trace harmonies.”