[Red Moon]

X Factor fans complain over phone-in votes

Fans of Welsh baritone Rhydian Roberts claim he was robbed of the X Factor crown last night because the talent show's voting lines were constantly engaged.

The ITV1 programme's message board and Rhydian Roberts fansites have today been inundated with complaints from fans claiming they could not get through to register their vote.

Scottish vocalist Leon Jackson was the surprise winner in the finale, upsetting Roberts – the bookmakers' favourite - and sibling duo Same Difference to take the title.

An X Factor spokesperson today denied there were problems with the show's voting system, although she said some viewers may have had problems with their phone service providers.

But in a year in which broadcasters have been dogged by phone-in scandals, fans immediately suspected foul play.

On the Rhydian Roberts fansite, those who were unable to cast their vote are being urged to email news organisations to complain.

One fan, Emma Newton, wrote: "I tried and tried and tried to vote for Rhydian! And the phone was constantly engaged!"

Another fan, Lisa, wrote: "I tried for 15 minutes to register my vote for you [Rhydian] without success. You were robbed."

Henry1234 said: "I also tried to vote many times for Rhydian and got the engaged tone… That Leon won is a joke - for the first time ever I wont be buying the X Factor single."

On the official X Factor message board, Sally_T85 complained that she could not get through for the last half hour of the show.

"On Rhydian forums I am visiting 75 per cent per cent of members are saying that they couldn't vote because all they got was an engaged tone from landlines. The only way they could get through was from a mobile. I couldn't vote for the last 20-30 minutes of the results show," she said.

However, some Leon Jackson supporters also reported problems getting through to cast their votes.

Sandra Lemetti wrote on the Scottish singer's fansite: "Well done Leon. Tried hundreds of times tonight to get through but only managed a few votes due to high demand."

The X Factor spokesperson said there were some reports of problems with callers whose phone service is provided by Virgin Media, but that this was unrelated the show's voting system.

Source: Daily Telegraph