Michelle McManus, former Pop Idol winner, has hit out at the latest series of the X factor and how fake it has all become.

“I watched every episode of X Factor last year and voted for Leona Lewis, who I thought was unbelievable. I’ve even bought her single because she is fantastic,” Michelle told the Daily Record.

“But I can’t watch it this year. Everyone has a sob story and everything is staged between the judges. It is so affected to the point I don’t believe a word that is coming out of anyone’s mouth. X Factor is a caricature of itself and just awful.”