In the run up to Saturday night’s X Factor final, Simon Cowell has refused to discuss whether or not he will be signing the show’s runner up.

Judge Simon Cowell said both stars had a future ahead of them but would not confirm whether he would sign up the runner-up.

He said: “This is a tough market. If you look at two artists, for example Emma Bunton and Matt Willis who won the I’m a Celebrity, whatever it’s called, they haven’t even got into the top 60 with their new records. Shayne Ward has sold 2.5 million records but without winning the X Factor he wouldn’t have even sold one record.”

Cowell described X Factor as “the best showcase for new talent I can think of at the moment”.

“There’s no guarantee but they have a far better chance if they win the show. I would say the future for both these two right now is rosy,” he said.

“I don’t like the idea of having to describe one of them as the runner-up.

“I think they do have a future but I’m not going to discuss whether I’m going to sign them or not.

“But for them it’s always best to be called the winner rather than the runner-up.”