ITV defends Leon's 'X Factor' win

ITV has assured viewers that there were "no irregularities" with voting for the final of The X Factor on Saturday night.

TV regulator Ofcom has received more than 1100 complaints from viewers claiming that they were unable to vote for bookies' favourite Rhydian Roberts, who finished second place to Leon Jackson.

"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," the broadcaster said in a statement this afternoon. ITV added that millions of votes had been cast and that Leon was the outright winner on the night "by a full 10% of the vote".

The statement continued: "Phone lines were monitored through the night and there were no irregularities on the voting lines. Call levels for the final were very high and depending on phone operators some callers may have experienced an engaged tone or network busy message. A tiny number of mobile customers did experience problems getting through because of high call volumes but viewers can be reassured that this would absolutely not have affected the outcome of the show. 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."

An X Factor source told DS that Leon had been ahead with voting for most of the series, finishing in first place for five of the eight live shows that preceded the final.

Tomorrow: Digital Spy speaks exclusively to The X Factor winner Leon

> Click here for more on The X Factor's most controversial finale yet