Cowell: Axing Hylton was 'horrible'

Simon Cowell has claimed that he feels "horrible" after voting to eliminate Rachel Hylton on The X Factor last night.

The music mogul sealed Hylton's fate in the final showdown after she had competed against Louis Walsh's boyband JLS. It was the third time that the mother-of-five had been in the sing-off.

Speaking afterwards on The Xtra Factor, Hylton's mentor Dannii Minogue revealed: "I'm so proud of her and, you know what, it's more than the competition for her. There's a whole lot more at stake and she's grown so much. I love her to bits."

Cowell added: "It was awful. As Dannii said, for Rachel this is a big, big deal in her life. I made the decision because it was the third time and I just couldn't see her surviving another week. I think the boys deserved another chance.

"But sending her home, that was horrible. I really, really like her. The public haven't got to know her as we've got to know her. She's a really, really nice person. So I was really sorry about that."

Last night's judges' vote was the final one of the series. The results will now be determined by the public alone for the rest of the competition.