Danyl Johnson’s mum has blasted Simon Cowell and The X Factor today, claiming that they have set her son up to gain extra publicity for the show.

Maria Burgess says that Simon Cowell has favoured Olly Murs over her son from day one, giving him better songs and routines whilst Danyl is just used as tabloid fodder.

Speaking to The Sunday Mirror Maria said:

“Danyl’s very upset and frustrated at the way he is being treated. He feels he’s not being given a fair chance and that Olly keeps getting more up-tempo songs.

“And he’s not getting all the bells and whistles. He’s lucky if he gets a perspex box to stand on when he’s performing, while the others have much bigger productions. The week he got a choir, we thought, ‘Wow, they have really pushed the boat out’.”

“The situation is that Simon Cowell knows best. You don’t question him. Danyl has voiced his concerns repeatedly, but been met with a wall of silence.”

Maria also added that she feels many of the negative stories that have emerged about Danyl, were leaked by show insiders in order to drum up column inches for the show.

Do you agree with Maria, or do you think that Danyl Johnson really is the ‘most hated X Factor contestant ever.’? As always, leave your comments below.