X Factor dubbed ‘Fix Factor’ by Welsh radio station

X Factor has been dubbed 'Fix Factor' by Welsh radio station Real Radio Wales - who were inundated with hundreds of complaints from angry listeners who tried voting for Welsh wannabe Rhydian Roberts in Saturday night's live X-Factor final only to be greeted by the engaged tone.

Rhydian, 24, came second to 18-year-old former shelf stacker Leon Jackson, who won the majority vote on the ITV talent show, he'll now be signed to Simon Cowell's Syco label with a £1 million recording contract.

Listeners complained by phone and text on the station's Sunday show and this morning's breakfast show.

Chris from Newport called the radio station, saying “I tried for almost three quarters of an hour on 3 different phones, all different networks and could not get through.” When asked if he thought there was some thing wrong with the voting Chris said “I never had the problem in the previous weeks.” Marc from the Rhondda also said that “I voted 3 times for Rhydian during the main show no problem but failed to get through when the result show was on even though I was hitting the re-dial all through the show until the lines closed.”

Nick sent a text saying: “Rhyd should have won. The phones were jammed. Tried 10 times and only got BT.” Another listener text that he “Rang for 45min and it was busy,” another, John in Newport, wrote; “tried all night to vote for Rhydian failed to get through I think he should have won.” The text’s continued to flood in. Georgia and family wrote “we could not get through at all in the second part of the show. There is no way Leon should have won.”

Angela Jay said of the complaints: “Wales is not looking to change the final result and we are delighted for Leon and Scotland. But we would like the makers of X-Factor to admit there were problems on Saturday night with the collection of the Welsh votes. This could end the calls from Wales that this was a fiX-Factor and that it was just a technical error.”

Real Radio presenter Chris Moore continued; “This is not Wales being bad losers, we are as magnanimous in defeat as we are in victory but we do believe there was a gross miscarriage on Saturday. The only people that can clear this matter up are ITV and the X-Factor …Now it’s time for them to stand up and be counted.”