One Direction finish 3rd in 'X Factor' final

One Direction have finished third in this year's series of The X Factor.

Simon Cowell's last group in the competition became the first act eliminated from tonight's concluding part of the grand finale, an announcement that visibly stunned the boys and made their mentor turn his back to the audience. They had previously sung a rendition of Natalie Imbruglia's 'Torn' earlier in the programme.

When asked to sum up their time on the show, bandmember Louis Tomlinson stated: "It's been absolutely incredible. For me the highlight when we first sang together at judges houses, that was unbelievable."

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Zain Malik confirmed: "We're definitely going to stay together, this isn't the last for One Direction."

Malik's statement was echoed by Cowell, who had earlier commented that the group were "something never seen before".

"I'm absolutely gutted for them," he declared. "But for everyone who's bothered to pick up the phones over the last few weeks I really appreciate it. All I can say is, this is just the beginning for these boys."

With the 14th act eliminated, Dannii Minogue's Matt Cardle and the Cheryl Cole-mentored Rebecca Ferguson will now go to head-to-head for the X Factor 2010 title.