Matt Cardle crowned winner of the X Factor

After weeks of battling it out, Essex painter and decorator Matt Cardle took home the X Factor title

After weeks of battling it out, Essex painter and decorator Matt Cardle was crowned the X Factor winner last night, after beating off stiff competition from baby faced boy band One Direction and Liverpool singer Rebecca Ferguson to seal a £1 million recording deal.

SEE ALL THE X FACTOR FINALS PICS HERE!

It was a tense moment as the results were announced, and Dannii’s cheeky protégée broke down in tears when he received the ‘mind blowing’ news and was crowned king of the singing competition.

‘Thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone who voted for me. It feels really good to be putting a record out soon,’ he told show host Dermot O’Leary.

‘To be the last man standing is just mind blowing.’ 

Matt trounced competition from Cher Lloyd - who left the show on Saturday - One Direction, who left during the first half of Sunday’s show, and Rebecca to earn the top spot in the competition - impressing viewers with a rendition of Katy Perry’s Firework, a duet with Rihanna, and his winner’s single When We Collide by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro, across the weekend.

And the tipsy star – who reportedly downed shots of whisky to calm his nerves ahead of the final – looked ecstatic as he was joined on stage by the rest of the X Factor finalists for a final rendition of his song.

‘I’m quite an emotional person anyway, although everything is heightened when you’re on this show. Seeing the support I got at home this week choked me up a little bit,’ he told reporters of his win.

‘I’ve had so many nice presents and letters and that makes me quite emotional. This victory is for all of them. I just can’t get over what has happened to me. ‘I remember getting to Bootcamp and seeing 220 contestants and thinking, “I’m not going to get anywhere because I’m not like them”. I’ve got a beard and a cap, checked shirt, and no sense of fashion.’

But instead the singer was the bookies favourite to win almost from the outset, with votes consistently pouring in every week.

Now the newly-crowned winner has some hard work ahead of him. From this morning, he’ll embark on a grueling promotional tour, in the battle to reach Christmas number one.

Matt’s single, When We Collide, is available to download from today, and will be in stores from Wednesday.

What are your thoughts on last night’s X Factor verdict? Was Matt the right winner? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.

SEE ALL THE X FACTOR FINALS PICS HERE!

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