Daryl Markham impressed the judges with his singing on Saturday night’s X Factor but he also won the hearts of the audience with his story.

Before singing Rod Stewart’s hit I Don’t Want To Talk About It, Daryl admitted to the judges that his brother Gary had recently passed away and even brought his nephew on stage for a hug after the judges put him though to bootcamp.

In a revealing interview with The People, Daryl talks about the death of his brother, who was aged just 37 when he died of lung cancer.

Daryl said: “Gary was the best little brother in the world. We did everything together and now he’s gone.

“I only hope that doing X Factor will be something positive the family can think about.”

However Daryl has admitted that he doesn’t want to be this years Niki Evans.

He said: “The last thing I want is to be this year’s sob story. But it’s been so hard for us all since we lost him.

“Gary and I had always done everything together. We had a carpentry business, we bought a boat, we went fishing, we’d drive to Germany together to make deliveries, everything.”

“It was awful to see him so ill. But he was so pleased to have the whole family around him to support him. We are all so close.”

“I made a promise to Gary that I would look after Kian. He comes to me and my mum most weekends. He’s a great kid, but shy, like Gary.

“I was so surprised when he ran on stage after my audition. I never dreamed he would do that.

“I saw everyone look to the right and there he was, running up to me with a massive smile on his face.

“He whispered, ‘Is that The Simon Cowell?’ I just said, ‘Yes, it is!’ It was fantastic to see him excited about something again.”

He smiled: “I know Gary would have been proud of me. You feel guilty if you get on with life, feel guilty for feeling good. But I just felt this was the right thing to do for all of us. I wanted to give the family something to be positive about, to be happy about.”