ITV denies X Factor phone line bias

Published Tuesday 18 December 2007 at 17:25 by Matthew Hemley

ITV has moved to defend itself from complaints about the outcome of last weekend’s final of The X Factor, claiming that there were no irregularities on voting lines and that Leon Jackson was the show’s “outright winner”.

The broadcaster issued a statement today after it emerged that more than 1,100 people have contacted media regulator Ofcom to complain they could not get through to vote for their act.

It is believed most of the complaints have come from fans of Rhydian Roberts, who was in the final and who ended up in second place.

However, ITV today said Jackson won by 10% and that phone lines had been working fine on the night.

It said: “We know there are many Rhydian fans who are disappointed that he did not win, but the simple fact is that Leon won The X Factor fair and square. Rhydian and Leon were both very strong finalists, so it is not surprising that they both had avid fan bases and that people voted in their millions. Leon performed strongly across the series and was the outright winner on the night by a full 10% of the vote.”

The broadcaster added: “We never reveal results of the show to the viewers, judges or the production team throughout the series to ensure that voting patterns are not influenced by that information. However, we are happy to clarify the margin by which Leon won the final to reassure viewers on this occasion.”

Although call levels for the final were high and some callers may have had to try a few times before being connected, the broadcaster insisted no faults had been registered.

It concluded: “As all numbers go through to the same lines and vote platform it is impossible for there to be any bias in favour of or against a particular contestant.”

Ofcom is looking into the complaints it has received.