Pete Waterman has hit out at ITV’s X Factor, saying that it is more about the judges than the contestants.

Writing in The Independent, Waterman described The X Factor as “the greatest television show in the world – but that’s not talent”.

He continued: “The problem for me is that kids believe that this is a talent show. It’s not. It’s a freak and geek show. It’s about ratings. That Cheryl Cole has sold more downloads as the judge than the winner of The X Factor proves that it’s a bigger promotion for the judges than it is the contestants on the show.”

Waterman said that TV talent shows began their journey away from finding actual talent on the second series of Pop Idol in 2003.

“The credit in the first Pop Idol goes to the people who trawled through and edited the performances, picking a balance between fun and talent,” he explained. “But that all went out of the window on Pop Idol 2. You had to have someone who cried, someone who died, someone with one leg.”