'X Factor' winner slates "music-killing" show

X Factor winner Steve Brookstein has launched a scathing attack on the show after being dropped by his record label.

His comments came as Simon Cowell admitted that the runners-up, Louis Walsh's G4, were the real winners of last year's series.

"The show gives you a platform but then pulls the rug from under your feet by making you sign to a certain record label and having no say in what happens next," Brookstein told the Daily Mail. "It should be about music and talent but it's not.

"The X Factor is all one big theatre - it's turning music into the WWF. It's about killing music to make light entertainment. I've now got to break away from The X Factor, which is fundamentally cheese and regarded as so by anyone and everyone in the industry."

On his former boss, he added: "The X Factor damages your credibility - or perhaps I should say Simon Cowell does. I did my vocals for the album in two weeks. But it did not come out for six months and I suspect that was because after the show finished Simon spent a month on holiday in Barbados. Then he went to America and did Pop Idol.

"I was never was one of Simon's priorities. Simon Cowell is Simon's priority. All the show has done is restrict my trade - but c'est la vie."