Former X Factor runner up Rhydian Roberts has said that Robbie Williams’s duet with Olly Murs on last Saturday’s X Factor show was “like two guys doing drunken karaoke”.

Roberts told iVillage that he was actually backing Olly to win the show, but thinks that his duet with Robbie hurt his chances of taking the title. He said:

“I could see that no-one wanted the title more than he, and no-one tried harder on the Saturday night performances than he did.

“The Robbie duet however, was tragic! This was such a shame for Olly on the biggest night of his life to have to prompt his idol and hope that he remembered the words to his own song ‘Angels’!

“They did get it back but the remainder of the song did look like two guys doing drunken karaoke on a night out.”

He added: “I felt it was a missed opportunity for Olly to put his critics to bed and sing a rare ballad to show off his tone, interpretation and to demonstrate an array of nuances that are expected from a top class vocalist.

“Instead, it was a bit of a car crash and all I heard was people saying that ‘Olly isn’t a great singer’. Well neither is Robbie but he’s a superstar and I actually think that Olly is good.

“I love his tone and I love his charisma. Anyone who is prepared to belt lying on his back during the difficult song ‘Superstition’ gets my vote of approval!”