It seems that not all X Factor judges move on and forget about their favourite contestants once a series of the ITV show ends.

Cher Lloyd may have cried about Cheryl Cole never contacting her after she finished on the reality TV show, however Gary Barlow has proved that he’s a bit more constant than the Girls Aloud star, as he wished Marcus Collins a happy birthday yesterday.

The Liverpudlian singer has been mentored by the Take That star on the ITV series and has went on to work with the legendary songwriter on his debut, self titled album.

Collins turned 24 and the dad of three took to Twitter to say:

Happy birthday @MarcuscollinsUK have a wonderful day

Marcus former co-star Janet Devlin also remembered the occasion and tweeted:

@MarcuscollinsUK Happy Birthday !

Following the final of The X Factor in December, Collins entered the recording studio with Gary Barlow to work on material to pitch to a record label. He subsequently landed a deal with RCA and went on to release his album and single ‘Seven Nation Army’ – which peaked at number nine in the UK singles chart- and ‘Mercy’ will hit shelves next month.

Meanwhile, Gary Barlow has a crazy busy few months ahead, as he was recently confirmed as returning to the X Factor judging panel this month. However, as he attends nationwide auditions, the Take That star will also be working on preparations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Barlow said “The Diamond Jubilee concert will celebrate the 60 years of The Queen’s reign with an amazing lineup of world-class artists coming together to play at one of the biggest and most exciting live music shows in recent years.”

He is also to become a dad again this summer and recently announced that his wife Dawn is currently expecting their fourth child.