[Harry!]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

The X Factor judge Louis Walsh has dismissed suggestions that contestant Rhydian Roberts was unfairly beaten in Saturday's final, saying that surprise victor Leon Jackson "won by about 10% of the total vote".

Walsh told MediaGuardian.co.uk he felt that Leon, a Scot, won "fair and square" over his Welsh rival Rhydian and tipped the public vote in his favour with his emotional appeal to the audience during Saturday's final.

"Rhydian is a better singer, there's no doubt about that in my mind, but Leon's last [video clip] when he made an emotional plea to the public probably pipped it for him," he added.

"He spoke about doing it for his mum and having a better life and it seemed very genuine and I think the public responded to that. He seemed absolutely sincere," Walsh said.

"As far as I am aware, of the 7 million plus people who voted, Leon won by a margin of around 10% which is pretty clear as far as I'm concerned."

The number of complaints to Ofcom from disgruntled viewers who felt they were unable to vote for Rhydian during Saturday's final rocketed from 80 yesterday to more than 1,100 by 4pm today.

An ITV spokeswoman confirmed that Leon won by a 10% margin, insisting that the broadcaster was happy to take the unusual step of revealing the figure to demonstrate the absence of "bias" on the night of The X Factor final.

The spokeswoman said that the margin was 1% when the voting was between Leon, Rhydian and the English duo Same Difference early during Saturday's The X Factor final, but increased to 10% by the time the final vote closed.

"We know there are many Rhydian fans who are disappointed that he did not win, but the simple fact is that Leon won The X Factor fair and square," ITV added in a statement.

"Rhydian and Leon were both very strong finalists, so it is not surprising that they both had avid fanbases and that people voted in their millions. However, Leon performed strongly across the series and was the outright winner on the night by a full 10% of the vote."

In his emotional final interview before voting closed on Saturday night's ITV1 final, Leon told viewers that he hoped to win to give his mother, a single mum who lives on a council estate, a "better life".

Leon also impressed on the night by performing a duet with Australian star Kylie Minogue.

Asked if he felt that voting was divided into Welsh and Scottish voters, Walsh said: "I think that is how people vote in these situations."

He added that he was pleased with the vote for Leon because "Rhydian is going to have a massive career anyway".

ITV said: "A tiny number of mobile customers did experience problems getting through because of high call volumes but there were no other reported faults on the lines and viewers can be reassured that this would absolutely not have affected the outcome of the show.

"As all numbers go through to the same lines and vote platform it is impossible for there to be any bias in favour of or against a particular contestant."

An Ofcom spokeswoman today confirmed the 1,100 complaints figure, which is expected to rise further, adding that the regulator would look into the issues. She declined to give a timetable for the investigation into The X Factor.