As fans of The X Factor will no doubt know, finalist Rylan Clark has received horrendous abuse on Twitter and various other internet forums since he was put through to the show’s final 12 acts…

Viewers angry that Rylan went through to the live shows while other singers with arguably better vocal ability were ditched prompted the abuse, which has included death threats.

As we reported last week, Rylan revealed that though the abuse has upset him, he’s more worried for his family than himself, but today, Rylan’s mum Linda has told TV Biz that she’s told him not to worry about her.

She said, “I’ve been told he’s had death threats, it’s awful. I can’t understand why people would do that.

“He is more concerned about me though, and if I’m alright, I’ve told him not to worry…

“Every year there is someone that people have to pick on, I just hope they’ll leave him alone soon, and his personality will win people over.”

She added, “Rylan has worked so hard to get this far, he’ll tell you himself that he’s not best singer in the competition, but he can sing and he is such a good entertainer.

“He is a brilliant, lovely person, everyone who knows him well idolises him, and the family are all behind him, we are so proud of him.

“I’ve spoken to him about the horrible things being said on Twitter, it is hard for him.

“But I’ve told him not to let it affect him, and definitely not to answer back as it only gives people ammunition.”

In other X Factor news, judge Tulisa has revealed that she’s quite happy being single right now, because not having the distraction of a love life helps her to “focus” on X Factor and her acts.

Tulisa is of course mentoring the Girls category this year, which consists of Ella Henderson, Lucy Spraggan, Jade Ellis and Wildcard entrant Amy Mottram.

She said, “[With] no man to stress about, I can just chill out and get on with my job.”

We will find out in this weekend’s X Factor shows whether Amy Mottram returns to the show, or if one of her fellow Wildcard acts – who are Times Red, Christopher Maloney and Adam Burridge – score the most public votes.