Danyl's mum: 'My son is not a bully'

The mother of X Factor star Danyl Johnson has defended her son against allegations of bullying.

Marie Burgess told New magazine that she is surprised and disappointed by the tabloid rumours that Johnson has faced in recent weeks.

Louis Walsh accused Johnson of bullying his girl group Kandy Rain last month. The singers later spoke out themselves to brand the schoolteacher "fake and arrogant".

Subsequent reports suggested that Johnson had made rival contestant Stacey Solomon cry at the X Factor house.

However, Burgess has now hit back by saying: "I'm shocked and upset because it couldn't be further from the truth. Danyl is not a bully. Danyl and his fellow contestants live in a bubble where everything inside the house is magnified and everything outside can be very distorted."

Revealing that her son was a victim of bullying himself at primary school, she continued: "There were two boys in particular who really picked on him, called him names and told the other kids not to play with him.

"It was horrible. Danyl was so upset and it broke my heart seeing him like that. So having been a victim of bullying, he would never become one himself."

Last week, Simon Cowell supported his protégé by insisting that he does not believe the speculation surrounding his behaviour.