Former X Factor winner, Shayne Ward has slammed Simon Cowell’s decision to sack Louis Walhs from the show earlier this year. Shayne thinks that the show would have flopped without him, but strongly denies any rumour of a PR stunt.

“Louis’s sacking was 100 per cent genuine. They wanted something new so they thought they’d try new judges and change around the set, and Louis did get axed – I know because he was gutted,” Shayne told the Manchester Evening News.

“But now that he’s back, it’s great – the show wouldn’t have worked without him. He’s done it for three years with Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell and it was a winning formula.”