Joe McElderry brave to come out, says Andy Bell

Erasure singer Andy Bell has spoken highly of his Popstar To Operastar colleague Joe McElderry's "brave" decision to come out as gay.

Bell, who himself is openly gay, recalled his own struggles to succeed in the "male-dominated" music industry and vowed to support the X Factor champion throughout his career.

"I said to him that I thought it was very brave what he'd done," Bell told The Sun. "I've told him to come to me when he wants to talk about it.

"I hope I'll stay in touch with Joe. I'm going to say to him, 'I'm always there if you want to talk and if you need any help or anything, I'll be there'.

"It's very hard to come out in the industry. It's male-dominated - run by men who like pretty young girls. In some ways being gay makes it ten times harder."

Bell also mused about how McElderry could return to glory following his axe from Simon Cowell's record label Syco in April, arguing: "He needs to keep touring and build up a real fan base from the bottom upwards."

Popstar To Operastar continues tomorrow at 8pm on ITV1.