[Kerry]

His illness was never played on was it? Anyone else would have played the sympathy card all the way through. I never even knew until yesterday

Matt Cardle has announced that he will donate some of his X Factor winnings to a cancer charity.

According to Now, the former painter and decorator suffered from kidney cancer at a very young age, during which time he and his family received support from the charity CLIC Sargent.

"I was young but I knew I was seriously ill and that I was in hospital," Cardle reportedly told The Sun. "It was caught quite early and I was all right, but it could have been worse."

"So I wanted to give some money to CLIC," the singer explained. "They helped me out when I was sick so it seems like the right thing to do."

Cardle was crowned this year's X Factor champion on Sunday night and released debut single 'When We Collide' on Monday

DS