Maria Lawson says she is upset The X Factor is judged on what makes good TV, not on talent.

The singer said she knew she was going to be kicked off the show even before she performed: “I knew I was going to go as Louis came to me just before I sang and whispered in my ear ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so, so sorry’.”

The decision should be about good singing, said Lawson: “It upsets me that these shows are not really about talent. It’s about what makes good TV.”

Lawson was unaware of Louis Walsh’s ties to her opponents the Conway Sisters, however. “I thought they just met once or twice in Ireland a while back. I didn’t realise they really knew each other,” she revealed.

She says she doesn’t mind the Sisters, but was upset at Walsh’s hidden interest. “I saw the picture of Louis beaming with the girls at Shane’s wedding,” she explained, adding: “I felt a bit sick. I’m trying to be dignified, but it does smell a bit.”