Dermot O’Leary has jumped to the defence of the X Factor’s newest theme-generating Jukebox Wheel, stating that it is definitely not rigged.
A lot of speculation occurred when the wheel landed on ‘Fright Night’ just in time for Halloween, but a number of professionals at the show including judge Nicole Sherzinger, Xtra Factor presenter Rylan Clark and choreographer Brian Friedman all shut down the claims.
Now Dermot O’Leary has had his say on the controversial wheel. Speaking to Digital Spy he said, “Of course it’s not rigged. People kept saying to me, ‘Oh, it’s fixed’… It’s the most rudimentary hamster wheel you’ve ever seen in your life.”
The 43-year-old also spoke about last weekend’s shocking elimination of Simon’s contestant Gifty Louise, saying it surprised the X Factor team.
“She was just a bit upset. You can understand why! She’s got a great voice.
“She’s really popular from the crew and the team and the house. The audience really loved her! I think we were all a little bit shocked.
“You just hope they use the millions of people watching as a springboard and go on and do something with it. The amount of people I meet down the line who got to week three, four, five, six, seven and now they make music their career. So it is possible!
“They’re not James Arthur coming back with a number-one album but they work in music for a living and, I think, if the show gives people that kind of springboard than we’re doing our jobs,” he said.
