Pete Waterman brands 'X Factor' fake

Pete Waterman has criticised The X Factor for being fake.

The Pop Idol judge claims that he turned down an offer to appear on the show's judging panel, and doesn't regret the decision.

"For me, after Pop Idol 2 finished, that was it," he told Now magazine. "It's just television - it's not about music.

"I caught a glimpse of The X Factor and I just thought 's**t, I'm glad I'm not doing that', because everything I hated about that whole thing came back to me. I hated the fakeness of it all. The producers telling you you've got to put certain people through."

Waterman was appalled by the treatment of Michelle McManus, the eventual winner of Pop Idol's second series.

"I think what we did to Michelle was appalling. We should have been taken off the air," he added. "She didn't have a great voice and she was grossly overweight. But we made her believe that she was talented enough to win, when she never was. That makes us guilty of lying to the public."